Reflections
by What.if.DreamsCameTrue
Summary: In a series of dreams reflecting on moments they've shared, both Daniel and Vala are connected in more ways than through shared night-visions, thanks to the latest planet they visited. A few spoilers from S10 episodes, though the focus is strictly on D/V.
1. Fire

This is chapter one of a collection of stories about SG-1 members Daniel and Vala. (If you wish to skip on ahead to more original chapters, I won't be the least bit offended. They start with Chapter Six - Ceremony)

I have decided that no relationship can be truly understood without first understanding the little steps one takes at the beginning. No one knows if Daniel and Vala got together after the final episode of SG-1, we can merely speculate. Since they weren't trapped on a ship and—in a way—forced together by the powers that be, we can merely wonder at the collisional course that throws them together in the future, without the help of loneliness.

So, here is my take on the Daniel/Vala relationship. Here is what I believe about the characters, and how I see their futures colliding.

Enjoy!

X

_It was a searing pain—unlike any she had ever felt before. Of course it would be; she was dying. The fire scorched her skin, taking strength from her ever-decreasing life. In her anguish, she screamed, crying out for alleviation. Why? Why was this happening to her? The question didn't even seem to matter, the pain was so great._

Daniel! Save me!

_Above the crackling of the flames, she heard his voice. It was angry, desperate. _Daniel! Save me!_ And then she was overcome, her body consumed by the hungry, eager fire. She could no longer hear him. The insanity was too much. Incomplete, incoherent thoughts screamed and beat against the inside of her skull. She let out an agonizing cry—her last. _

_And then darkness. _

_The cold of death buffeted over her like an icy wind. The pain immediately disappeared, and she was in blissful nothingness. She floated there, suspended in bondage, unable to escape the bitter cold, the despondent darkness. She had no feeling in her body; it was as if she _had_ no body—perhaps she was a spirit. There was no way out, no room to breathe or move, and yet there seemed to be no end and no beginning to this new world. All was black, all was silent. _

_She didn't know how long the emptiness enslaved her, but a tingle in what she realized were her fingertips brought with it a light of hope. As the tingle spread to her shoulders, her chest, her nose, her toes, the emptiness took shape. Though her lungs still felt like iron weights and she couldn't seem to catch a breath, the feeling in her fingers became alive with warmth. Slowly—very slowly—life drifted back into her body. The warm, familiar sense of existence began to trickle into her. Her eyes still couldn't make anything out, but when the life finally brushed her stagnant heart and her lungs melted their iron exterior, she let her nose take in a breath of vital air. She was surprised at the urgency her body reacted to the intake of oxygen. _

_And still she couldn't see anything. Her mind was fuzzy, attempting to locate itself, putting nonsensical pictures in order. Eventually, she interpreted her lack of sight to the fact that her eyes were shut tight. The signal from brain to eyelids was tedious and slow, but the exhausting command was worth it. _

_Her eyes fluttered open. Disgruntled for a moment, she realized she was in someone's arms—_his _arms. She felt his touch on her back, her cheek was rested against arm. Visions flooded back. She didn't need to look around to remember what happened, but she did. Sitting up slowly, she brought her face up to his shoulder, scouring the scene around her and then brought her glance to his jaw. "Daniel?" How long had she been gone? A year? A century? Thus it seemed._

_She smelled the smoke and the essence of burnt flesh in the air. He lifted his hand to brush against her cheek. She fluttered her gaze from his eyes to his shoulder, not seeming to be able to meet his blue stare for more than a second. His breath was warm and gentle on her face. "Are you okay?"_

_Instantly realizing the gravity of the situation, she began to shiver, the memory of death heavy on her mind. She nodded hesitantly. _Was_ she okay?_

_She fell back into his arms, clutching him desperately. Painful memories continued to rattle her. She felt him close around her, willingly offering his comfort and warmth. He stroked her back and breathed in the smell of her hair._

_She gasped. "I've got tingles all over," she gulped, her accent quivering with her voice. She could feel his hold tighten a tiny bit. "But don't flatter yourself. I'm pretty sure it's not you." As if to prove her point, a rather tremendous shiver raked through her body, and she clamped her eyes shut at a flash of memory of the pain and agony she'd just gone through. She laughed, as though her half-ass joke had actually been humorous, but then blinked back tears threatening to pour down her cheeks._

_His head turned; she could tell because she could feel the stubble of his chin scratch an itch on the top of her head. "Thank you," he said. For the first time, she realized the presence of a tall, gray looking man wearing an impeccably long robe._

_Not ready to calculate in her head what had really happened to her—simply feeling the need to be as far away from this place as she could get—she simply held on to Daniel's embrace._

_"Thank the Ori," said the tall man sublimely. "Stand. You'll come with me," and he turned._

_She felt Daniel's arms loosen a bit, and she couldn't help but desperately want to pull him right back to her. But the possibility of escape weighed heavy on her mind, and she sat up.  
"I think he wants us to go with him," he breathed against her cheek. "Can you stand?"_

_He was always so gentle and thoughtful._

_She nodded, still a little shaky. "If it means getting away from here."_

_She glanced in his eyes and saw the tenderness and will she needed to stand. _

_She leaned on him every step of the way, drawing needed strength from his strong, comforting arms. Her cheek found solace against his broad chest, and her arms held fast around him. The icy clutch of death was slowly retracting its grasp on her, and the warmth she derived from Daniel hastened its retreat. _


	2. Treasure

Chapter Three of Reflections. I had it, so I thought, "Eh, what the hell?"

These are still just flashbacks—from my point of view, that is.

I like this one, though don't hate me if I get something wrong. I'm editing my own stuff, so forgive me if I make a grammatical error or miss a word. I love praise and criticism. When I start getting to the stuff not in the episodes (i.e.the stuff that I will be writing off the cuff); I'll be needing you to tell me what you think of the characters and how I see and write them.

But, for right now, I'll shut up my long-winded preface and let you get on to the good stuff.

Oh, and a bit of a P.S. I'm not a sci-fi person, so my wordage about the 'treasure' is really lame and stupid, but I hope the story makes up for my lack of... coolness. -chuckles-

X

_ And... she was late. He looked at his watch, tapping his foot impatiently. What was taking her so long? It's not like she'd brought her entire wardrobe—which he highly doubted was extensive. That woman only seemed to wear sexy leather outfits, and he could hardly imagine more than two or three different leather outfits in his head. Women could be so aggravating. _

_ This one especially. _

_ Finally, he saw her walking through the blast doors with two soldiers behind her. She carried her bag on her shoulder and wore a smirk, seemingly finding something amusing. _

_ "Came to see me off," she gloated. "That's sweet."_

_ "Well, we've been through a lot together. I just wanted to come here myself and make sure you... you were _really_ searched." He said this with his own amount of amusement. He smirked right back at her, and then motioned for the guard behind her to take her bag._

_ Without glancing away from him, she dropped the bag off her shoulder and handed it to the man behind her, cutely smiling all the while. Knowing that she was in no way innocent, he gave her a sweet yet tight grin that told her, "I know you took something. Don't even think you're getting away with it."_

_ They exchanged pleasantly meaningful looks until he was proven right when the guard searching her bag pulled out a piece of treasure that had yet to be cataloged. He gave the guard a, 'You're getting a raise' look. He saw her turn—noticing her attempt had been foiled, and take the token. She turned back to him, holding the piece in her hand._

_ "It's just a little keepsake," she said, as if that would convince him to let her keep it. "Just a little something to remember _you_ by."_

Uh huh, yeah. Don't think so._ "This is a priceless artifact," he returned, prying it from her fingers. _

_ "Priceless as the memories we share," she smiled sweetly, trying to take it back from him._

_ He gave her a meaningful look and engulfed the piece in his hand, then tucked it in his pocket. _

_ "Well," she sighed, rebuffed but not defeated. She turned to gather her things from the guard, flashing the poor man a sexy smile and a wink, then faced Daniel again. She sighed. "I hate long goodbyes," she began._

_ "Okay. Goodbye," he interrupted her and turned to retreat. He felt a sense of smugness in his action. He took amusement in being the first to walk away._

_ "I don't even get a hug?" He heard the pout in her question._

_ He stopped and sighed. When he met her gaze, his eyes cursed her for foiling his fun. He knew in the back of his mind that she needed a hug—perhaps not because she deserved it, but she _had_ been burned to death. Not to mention the horrible things she'd been forced to do at the hands of Quetesh. Yes, he realized, the least he could do was give her a hug. _

_ She was smiling at him. It was the pretense of a smirk, but he saw within it the real desire to be embraced. Even if he knew she was only going to pick his pockets when he did. _

_ He approached her once again, watching his feet move beneath him. Standing before her, he met her eyes, a tight smile on his lips. He wasn't going to enjoy this. _

_ He reached out his hands, grabbed her shoulders, and gently pulled her to him. He awkwardly patted her back, not particularly desiring to have her body pressed against his. But she met him, her arms slinking around his waist. Well, one arm, anyway. The awkward embrace lasted as long as he could bare, self-conscience of the people he knew were watching. When he could stand it no longer, he nudged her away. Her smirk had returned, but there was a touch of satisfaction—the sweet, innocent kind—in her eyes. He hoped that someday she would embrace the part of herself, no matter how small, that longed to stay put instead of always leave._

_ For her part, the hug had been pleasantly intense. Her initial business had been accomplished, but for a brief moment she'd gotten caught up in the smell and nearness of him. It was, regretfully, brief, but it had placed a prick of doubt in her mind that had never been there before._

_ Meeting his eyes once more, she felt a sense of instant guilt. Attempting to ignore it and move on, she covered it up with a smile, and averted her gaze, stepping away from him._

_ Her retreat was short-lived, however. He caught her wrist as she ascended the walkway towards the Stargate, and pulled her back to him. She landed in front of him, closer than before. She was, to say the least, a bit stunned. Daniel? Feeling sentimental? How _utterly_ sexy..._

_ "Daniel," she said. "There's no need to make this any harder than it already is." For her, it was the truth. Walking away from him, she'd suddenly felt helplessly torn. She'd _wanted _to turn back and stand in his embrace, closer than she'd been before. And now she'd found herself in the position she'd imagined. _

_ His hands were around her wrists, tucked to his chest. He pulled the priceless artifact from her enclosed fingers, giving her a look that said, "Harder, my ass."_

_ The instant she knew that he had pulled her back merely to retrieve the token, a part of her had been intensely disappointed. Her face fell. "Oh."_

_ But, not wishing her initial reaction, nor her disappointment, to be read across her face, she smiled, flipped her bangs, and said, "Can't blame a girl for trying."_

_ "Mm, yeah, I can." His immediate response stung—though she knew she deserved it. But she didn't let on. He blinked, his eyes wide with triumph. He'd amused himself again._

_ On an impulse, she lifted her hand to stroke the gruff on his cheek. Her eyes grazed his mouth and his jaw, not wishing to meet his icy blue eyes for fear he'd read the doubt and intensity in her own. She saw his smile tentatively dissolve at her touch. He looked down at her face, still exhibiting the artifact as a trophy in his hand, and a tiny fragment of doubt touched his mind at the same moment as it touched hers. He couldn't identify it, but for the first time he realized... he was going to miss her._

_ She teased him a second longer than he anticipated, then met his gaze for a moment. _

_ And then, with a swish of her ponytail, she turned to saunter towards the Stargate once more. A moment he stared where her face had just been, wondering at this new realization and marveling at her wiles and abilities to make even _him_ conscience of her absence. Then he turned to watch her leave. He couldn't help but notice the sexy sway of her hips. Before she reached the event horizon she turned—an action he had wished but not expected. He could barely make out her features, but he knew she was toying with his emotions again—the vixen teasing her prey. _

_ She stood there for only a second, but she had to see him one last time before he would disappear. She might not ever see him again. The thought gnawed at her doubt, making it stronger. But she had to leave—it was her nature, who she was. She couldn't change for someone she hardly knew. She just couldn't._

_ And with that thought, her body stepped through the Stargate, leaving her heart and her thoughts behind with him._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1, simply dreaming and pondering...**


	3. Rooms

Chapter Four of Reflections. This one is a little more risqué, it's a scene from 'The Ties That Bind.' I put a little bit of innuendo, but only a little bit. It's more suggestive than anything.

As I've said before, so far the rating is more mild, but I don't know what I'm going to do about the rating as the stories progress. At the moment, flashbacks are more what I'm focusing on. And now, I hand the floor over to the two lovebirds.

X

_ God, he was tired. His limbs were aching, his mind was hurting. He wondered if it was the distance between the two of them for so long, but rejected that thought, instituting his own explanation; it had been along day._

_ Sauntering down the corridor, he approached his quarters with the intense purpose of stripping down to his birthday suit, climbing into bed, and falling instantly asleep. Okay, the birthday suit was not going to happen, but it greatly comforted him to know that the possibility of an easy preparation for bedtime was available for consideration._

_ He glanced to his left to see that guard standing in front of her_ _room. It had been decided that they sleep closer together to ensure a healthy sleeping pattern. He sighed. This was truly humiliating, having to rely on her nearness for his health. _She _of all women,_ _and _he _of all men. He slid his card, unlocking his door. He entered, flipped on the light, and turned towards his bed._

_ "Hello." Her accent had grated on his nerves more these past few days than any British person's voice ever had._

_ "What the hell are you doing here?" was the most obvious and pressing question._

_ "Isn't this my room?"_

_ "No... you're room is across the hall.. with the.. _guard_ in front of it." He stuck his finger towards the door. He had to admit, he was slightly confused. Maybe this _was _her room. Was it? Had he really been so tired and _stupid _to walk into her room? He glanced back at the door as if trying to convince himself that he was right._

_ No... this was his room, he assured himself._

_ "Ah, yes," she sighed, gazing about the room."They do all look alike, don't they?" she questioned, as if reading his mind. Or trying to convince him of her innocence._

_ He spun his head to look at her. He'd heard the nuance in her voice. He wasn't stupid. Or was he? No... just tired. _

_ Right?_

_ "Since I'm here," she suggested, "Shall we make the most of it?" She flung off the covers to reveal herself scantily dressed in a hot, vibrant pink color of fabric._

_ Ah. See, all he had to do was wait for it. Here was the reasoning behind all of this 'confusion.'_

_ Exposing her chest a little more, she threw her hands behind her head and snuggled against his pillow. _His _pillow._

_ Taken aback for a moment, he blinked. "No... we shalln't." Was that even a word? Had she really taken over his speech as well as the command of his eyes? He couldn't help but look at her._

_ He was confounded at her abilities to a) dodge the guard and steal into his room, and b) completely numb his mind of all reason. He stood there, his thumb still pointed towards the door, a confused and self-deprecating look on his face, looking at a half-naked woman who was shifting on his bed. _His _bed._

_ "Daniel," she said, sitting up on all fours, pressing her chest between her forearms, "We're both stuck on this base, and there's _nothing _else to _do!"

_ "Yes there is," he chimed in hurriedly, attempting to shove aside the vision of the two of them tumbling together on the bed. "There's there's there's there's sleeping, there's working, there's—" _Running out of excuses. _"—there's finding a way out of this mess!" He was rather proud of that one. __Reformulating the excuses in his head, he tallied them again on his fingers._

_ "Come on, Daniel," she pouted, swinging her ebony hair to and fro. It brushed the skin of her... no! He wouldn't. "What if we can't?" She posed the question then looked at him meaningfully. "We might have to spend the rest of our lives together."_

_ "No! Don't.. even... go there." He half-spat out that last thought, berating himself for another vision of them.. together. The vision was amazing, but the fact that he'd had it was disgusting to him._

_ "There's _literally _a bond between us," she pointed out. "_Some _people might find that... romantic." She said this with a hint of a smirk._

_ "I'm not one of those people," he countered instinctively, though it came out sounding more like he was trying to convince himself._

_ She shifted again, sitting on the edge of the bed with her soft, long legs hanging over the side. She began to say something then stopped, mulled it over a second longer, then, "I'm I _really _so repulsive."_

_ "Wha—No." Indeed, she was far from it. "No." He dropped his hand, only to lift it again to scratch a sudden itch on his forehead. He began to saunter towards the bed, sitting on the end of it. "No, you're not... repulsive." He should say not. "It's just..." He thought about it for a moment, trying to conjure words that would describe to her in a nice fashion without betraying the fact that he did, in fact, find her ravishing. Not that he would ever do anything about it. He found the fact that she had trapped him in a corner completely absurd. He wasn't the kind of man that had those thoughts. He'd had one wife—one love of his life, and he'd lost her. Not only was he not one for casual sex, he was also not one for forgetting the things in life that had been good to him. Sha'uri had been his everything. "It's just..." he breathed. How could he possibly explain this to her? He was mystified._

_ Plus the fact that he knew that this wasn't even real to her. "That I know what you're doing," he concluded, stuttering in his signature way. "The whole... 'sexual' thing... it's..." he searched for the words, "A defense mechanism."_

_ "Really?" humoring him._

_ "Yeah," he played through the facts in his head. "You live this alter existence, you move from place to place, you avoid making _lasting _relationships, you use sex as a weapon, prevent yourself from forming any _real _emotional bonds." He looked at his fingers, using the tally method again, recounted the facts on his hand, and was satisfied he'd diagnosed them all._

_ "Text book case," she noted as he performed his reasoning._

_ He shrugged in succession. "....Yep," he sighed._

_ A part of her was hurt that that was all she was to him, another problem to be solved. "Never realized I was so transparent," she half-snapped at him. She stood up, grabbing her robe._

_ "Vala," he said, instantly realizing he'd probably said something offensive._

_ "No," she said, not looking at him. "Really, it's fine, Daniel." She slipped her robe on. "I can see why you wouldn't want to become involved with me." She flipped her hair out from underneath the fabric. "With someone so pathetic." Her words were biting._

_ He groaned, seeing the woman's 'double meaning' take on what he'd just said._

_ "I wasn't always like this, you know. There _was _someone else." She began tying the belt around her waist. His head dropped to look at his toes. "I was engaged. Then I was taken as a host. And even though the tokra eventually freed me, the damage was already done." Her eyes were glistening. "And once you have been spat on... and stoned..." she swallowed the bile in her throat, "By the people in your own village..." She looked up at him. "Well..." she laughed half-heartedly, "You try forming lasting relationships." She bent to slip on her slippers._

_ Daniel sat there, completely put in his place. As she tripped towards the door, he called out to her. "Vala, Vala, just... wait. Please, stop." He couldn't believe he was feeling sorry for her. It was who he was, what he did, but this woman was just.... so... nauseating._

_ She stopped, adjusting the belt around her waist. Of course she'd meant everything she'd said. Her own family, her people, had seen her return home and had screamed at her to leave. The memory was excruciatingly painful, humiliating, and she'd sworn never to tell anyone that story. So why was Daniel any different? The moment she'd said it—had her breakdown—she'd regretted it. Her pride, however, wouldn't let her back down now. This was the first time in a long time that she'd shown a part of herself to anyone. She wanted to take it back. _

_ "Alright, I'm sorry. Okay?" He hated saying it, but he was. _

_ Okay, maybe she didn't._

_ "I'm sorry. I just..." He tried to think through each thing that he said. He didn't want her to hear a double meaning again. "I just... forget what you've been through..." He sighed, and then a thought crossed his mind. "...If you've actually been through any of that. Are you messing with me?"_

_ "Is it working?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth. She was hoping for sympathy, but figuring he'd through her out._

_ "Oh, get out! Go," he pointed towards the door._

_ Yep, she'd been right._

_ She opened the door and hesitated, opening her mouth to say something, perhaps with the intent of changing his mind. _

_ "Go!"_

_ And so she left._

_ Daniel stood there, hands in his pockets, casting a pained look at the closing door. For a moment, he considered the faint look in her eye—the last one he'd seen of her before he'd repeated his command and she'd disappeared through the door. He'd thought he'd seen a hint of pain, as though she _had_ been telling the truth when she'd said those things about her people. _

_ And then he shook his head and scoffed. Why would she have ruined it? He was apologizing, and she had ruined it. He was giving her sympathy, which was what she'd wanted, he was sure, and she'd ruined it. _

_ Officially disgusted—with her or with himself, he couldn't tell—he turned away from the door._

_ He woke up the next morning in a cold sweat. God, she was good._


	4. Request

Still shifting everything. Apologies out the wazoo.

X

_ He knocked, and then—not waiting for a reply, he opened the door and shut it behind him. The General had turned to see who it was, and when he'd seen Daniel, nodded a greeting. Daniel paused, his back against the door, and collected his thoughts, while the General stood with his back turned to him, flipping through some files._

_ Finally, Daniel faced the older man. "General, I'm hoping you will reconsider, and allow Vala to come with us."_

_ When he'd heard the request, Landry glanced back, not so much confused but more shocked. "Given what she's put you through, I would think you would be the _last _person to ask me that." He circled around his desk and was now sitting down in his hallowed chair._

_ "Yes sir," Daniel said, rather hesitantly, "And I'm hoping that impresses on you how strongly I feel about this." With his hands in his pockets, he came to stand before the General. When the older man didn't reply right away, Daniel sighed. "Look, I know she's no angel. She's..." The General gave Daniel an amused look. "She's lied, she stolen, she's cheated. She's misrepresented herself. She's.... lied..." Daniel glanced up to look at the older man. "But she... also risked her life to inform us that the Ori were on their way and almost sacrificed herself to shut down the Ori's very first super gate."_

_ "I understand the contributions she's made," the General said, not pausing to glance up at Daniel. "The truth is, the Pentagon isn't willing to roll the dice on her." With that thought, he did glance up and saw the look of understanding on Daniel's face._

_ Thinking about what the General had just said, Daniel tried impeaching the older man's obvious interest in allowing Vala to help. "But you could convince them otherwise," he stated. It was a long shot, but he saw that it had an instant effect on the older man._

_ The General paused, sighing slightly. He had considered this before—attempting to sway the government to allow Vala to stay. But it was a whole other jack-in-the-box now that he had Daniel asking him to do so._

_ Daniel noticed he'd hit on something, so he continued. "You see, ten years ago, General Hammond sat in that very chair, and he was faced with a very similar decision." Daniel formulated the facts in his head. "You see as Former First Prime to Apophis, Teal'c had committed some terrible crimes."_

_ The General sighed. "As the Former First Prime to Apophis, Teal'c provided valuable insight to the enemies resources and tactics." _

_ Daniel was nodding in agreement. "And as the mother to the leader of the Ori army... Vala may hold the key to stopping them." There. He'd said it._

_ "If I push this issue, and the Pentagon agrees to allow her on off-world missions, then _I'd _be the one who would be held accountable for her actions." This had also crossed the General's mind whilst contemplating addressing Vala to the government._

_ "Yes, sir... I understand, sir." With that last thought, Daniel considered the conversation officially over. Who in god's name knew if Vala _could _be trusted? Certainly not implicitly, perhaps not even partially? He turned to exit._

_ Flipping through another file, General Landry said, "So, I'd be counting on you..." Daniel paused at the door. "...to keep her in line."_

_ Instinctively, Daniel whipped his head to look at the older man, a shimmer of hope igniting throughout his posture. His eyes were wide with sudden excitement. Had he really won?_

_ Hesitantly, not wishing to sound as thrilled at his triumph as he felt, Daniel blinked. "Yes sir," he said and opened the door. When he'd closed it behind him, Daniel paused for a moment, a slight smile tugged at his mouth. What had he gotten himself in to?_

_ Behind the door, an old man sat at a desk, a forgotten file in his hands. A moment, the man—who had five thousand other things that had to be done by the end of the day—simply sat and thought. After his mind's eye replayed the scenario just enacted, he smiled, nodded, and returned to work, not letting the obvious attraction and respect Daniel had for this little, ebony-haired devil ruin his strictly laid plans for dinner that evening._


	5. Date

I'm attempting to place them all in order. Don't hate me.

Few more flashbacks and then on to the completely original stuff.

X

_ "Fancy."_

_ "Well," he said, laying down his menu, "I know you don't get off the base much, except for... official business." He pulled the napkin out of the wine glass in front of him. He, himself, had never been a huge fan of fancy restaurants—what with all of their absurdities such as having ten forks for one. Plus there was the matter of an impeccably long-stemmed, white rose that was sticking straight up between them. He had to lean slightly to not view her face with a line of green up her nose and forehead._

_ Following his lead, Vala removed her napkin from her wine glass, a little hesitantly._

_ "So, I thought I'd take you somewhere nice," he concluded. To prove his irritation of the one thing he _could _change, he moved the rose from the center of the table off to the side. He could now see the adorable little—almost identical—white rose she'd stuck in her hair, now that the one he'd nudged out from between them was not obtruding his view of her. She wore a blue shirt that complimented her gray eyes which now smiled cheerfully at him._

_ "Well," she grinned, tucking the napkin onto her lap—as she had seen him do. "I don't mind telling you, I've been looking forward to this little date all week."_

_ "I... wouldn't exactly call it a date," he said. "It's—"_

_ "Oh, I've watched enough of your television to know what a date is," she explained. He'd looked so cute trying to convince her otherwise. "It's a.. romantic event..." He fidgeted. "...typified by... dinner, movie and/or karaoke." At this, he flashed her an amused look, "...and usually culminating the night with..." she let her worlds trail off, not particularly needing to finish her sentence. _

_ "Okay, this is definitely _not _a date," he said, trying to convince her. "It's... it's... two friends and coworkers out for dinner." His hands were acting out his thoughts again. At this point, he had inevitably run out of them, and so he fumbled for a second, his hands waving and his mouth forming words that weren't even there to begin with._

_ "Oh," she said, " Well... I—"_

_ "Hello," said the waiter. He was clad all in white, his hands behind his back._

_ Vala looked up at him. "Hi." She smiled._

_ "Can I start you off with something to drink?" the man asked. _

_ "Absolutely," Vala asserted._

_ Daniel, watched her, willing to let her order for herself, but when the waiter started listing off all of the martini options—chocolate, passion fruit, and plum—and she replied, "Those sound wonderful. So... one of each then," and gave the man a delighted grin, Daniel saw the desperate need to intervene. The waiter gave her a wide-eyed and amused look. _

_ "Yes, well, I think we are going to pace ourselves," Daniel interjected, not particularly trusting her with three different alcoholic drinks at once. "She'll have the..." he glanced at her, and she cocked her head as if she had no idea how to assist him in choosing—she'd never had a martini, and there were simply to many choices. Looks like he'd have to just guess. "Passion fruit," he concluded, matching the name with the woman. _More like passionate fruitcake. _She seemed just as delighted at the choice as at the options, grinning and purring like a Cheshire cat. "And _I'm _going to have the bottled water." He wasn't the adventurous type. Plus, he was driving that night and had planned on a little translating when they got back._

_ Vala gave him a, "God, Daniel, how boring," look._

_ "Yes, sir." The waiter bowed and retreated, chuckling at the pair._

_ Done teasing Daniel, she glanced at the departing waiter and then played aimlessly with her __utensils. She was fidgeting just as much as he was, but neither of them seemed to realize their mutual actions._

_ Daniel had thought this would have been easier. _

_ She was about to say something when Daniel got a word out first. "Listen," he said, and then saw that she'd opened her mouth to say something as well. He paused, feeling a little foolish._

_ "Oh."_

_ "Well... uh," he stuttered. "I..." He mumbled again, more because his mind was all twisted and his thoughts weren't in order. What was it about her that ruined him so? She seemed to always be able to take advantage of his weaker moments and simply confound him._

_ He was not a fan of being confounded. He liked order and facts. _She, _on the other hand, took amusement from stepping in and messing everything up. Okay, perhaps she didn't always do it on purpose, but he knew she noticed the moments when she did._

_ In that instant, however, Vala was more preoccupied with how cute Daniel looked when he stuttered. How could she take advantage of him now? It would be certainly too juvenile to do so on their date._

_ After lining the ducks up in a row in his head, Daniel took the initiative. "Let me start," he began._

_ "Okay," she said breathlessly, as if her very thoughts had been hoping for that very thing._

_ Actually, she'd just let him go first because he seemed like the only of the two that actually had something_ important_ to say._

_ "Um... look, I know it hasn't been easy for you," he glanced up at her, projecting the facts, "Adjusting to your new life here, learning to trust other people, _and—_most importantly..." he took in a breath through his teeth, "Refusing the temptation to fall back on your old ways." He smiled pleasantly up at her._

_ She fidgeted, glancing down at her hands for a moment. She'd never admit it, but Daniel's acknowledgement had her reeling inside. It was as though it had been what she'd needed all along._

_ "But you have worked hard..." he continued, allowing a slight smile to play at the corners of his mouth. He was looking at her as he said this. "...to make a place for yourself with us, and..." he paused and looked at the table, and then he returned his gaze to meet hers. "...dinner tonight is my way of saying thank you."_

_ Vala sat up a little taller. Had he just said what she'd thought he'd said? She smiled—nay, blushed—a little taken aback._

_ "Thank you for proving me right when I said that I thought we could take a chance on you."_

_ Oh yes, he'd said it, all right. She grinned, absorbing the moment with pleasure. She hadn't been this happy in a very long time. "I... don't know what to say," she laughed a little._

_ "Just," he shook his head and smiled, "Say what you were going to say before I interrupted." He smiled and looked back up at her._

_ "Okay," she laughed a little. "I need to use the bathroom." She smiled pleasantly._

_ Any hope that he'd had of her words complimenting his in any way shot right out the window. His face fell and seemed to say, "You have _got _to be kidding me." The bathroom._

_ She sat there for a moment longer, smiling at him, as though waiting for a response._

_ "Yeah, it's..." He sighed. He was never going to have a real conversation with her without it turning into a circus, was he? "That way," he pointed with thumb. His words were almost inaudible, but they were understood._

_ "Okay," she said, lightheartedly grinning, and made to stand up. She giggled a little when she walked by him, reaching out her hand to tickle his neck. "Be back in a moment, darling," the gesture seemed to say._

_ He made an almost identical noise in response, but more out of self-deprecation than __amusement. Had she heard _anything _of what he'd had to say? Had she cared?_

_ He shook his head, still smiling as she passed him, and then, when she was gone, his smile disappeared. He rolled his eyes, cleared his throat, and opened the menu. God, he hated nice restaurants._

_ Vala bobbed, as per her usual chipper manner, in the direction that Daniel had pointed her. Turning a corner, she nodded and pleasantly smiled at the waiter, and walked down the hall towards the sign that had the absurd looking shape of a woman in a dress. Not particularly paying much attention to her surroundings—more focused on contemplating the eccentricities of the race of people she had placed amongst herself—she hardly noticed the man on the phone who, when he saw her, quickly hung up on the person he'd been talking to. When she'd passed, heading her merry way, he slipped behind her and grabbed her around the waist. Before she could holler or call out, he forced her to tilt her head to the side and injected a substance into her neck._

_ Her mind went suddenly sluggish. Her brain was screaming for Daniel, for anyone who could call to him for her, but her mouth ignored any form of communication she attempted with it. The most she could do was groan. _

_ She somehow found herself being half-carried towards the exit, her arm had been wrapped around the strange, evil man's neck. She saw in the corner of her eye a flash of white and realized too late that it had been their waiter. She could have sent him a pleading, "_Help me!_" look so that he could inform Daniel of what was happening to her, but her mind and voice were too slow._

_ The man dragged her outside and shoved her into a car, and the last thoughts that floated to the surface of her mind before it went completely blank were, "Passion fruit margarita!" and, "Damn. I've gone and gotten myself kidnapped again."_

_ Daniel—still looking at the menu and calculating in his mind how much this night would cost him—sat at the table, oblivious. The waiter returned and placed the drinks in front of him. _

_ The man—who, for all intensive purposes, was named Nick—had seen the extremely attractive woman, who'd just been sitting at this table, pass by him in another man's arms with a look of pain on her face. Nick had found it odd that she had so suddenly taken ill and that, instead of leaving with the man she had come with, she'd had someone else, who Nick had not seen before, take her home. He wondered if the man he was now serving was aware of this new change of events._

_ "Your friend has taken ill," he offered, figuring he'd at least try to be a hero, and found himself rather satisfied that he'd gone with that course of action. Daniel's head shot up from the menu with a look of shock on his face._

_ "What? Where is she?" He wondered for a moment if she'd been so nervous about their 'date' that she'd gone and tossed the cookies. Of course, after the thought had crossed his mind, he realized how absurd it sounded._

_ "Um..." Nick began, "She was escorted outside by another gentleman."_

_ Confused, and to say the least, a little offended, Daniel closed his menu and headed in the direction Vala had gone._

_ But when he saw no sign of her, a panic took over him. He jogged towards the front door, but again found nothing as he stopped outside of the restaurant. He looked both ways, but he saw nothing—no black-haired pixie, or chivalrous knight. Panic and confusion engulfed him. A flash of white at his feet made him look down. He bent to retrieve the white rose that had been in her hair. Holding it gently in his hand, Daniel realized that the situation had gotten much worse. _

_ Vala would never have left any form of jewelry or adornment behind, she was too fashionable for that. Daniel stood there a moment longer, dazed with shock and stunned with fear. Where was she? _

_ He felt consumed with the realization that he _had _to find her, or nothing else would matter ever again. When had he gone and let himself care so much?_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate, merely dreaming and pondering...**


	6. Ceremony

_Hey guys! Let me apologize now for the switching of some of my chapters—for all of you who subscribed to my story, I don't know if you were sent email notifications. If you did, forgive. I uploaded the stories in a thrill and wasn't considering in what order I _should _post them. Terribly sorry._

_I also apologize for it taking awhile to upload another. I was posed with an interesting challenge that I'd considered but hadn't deliberated intensely: A tie in._

_Basically, someone suggested I explain what the flashbacks were for and what they meant. I swear, I racked my brain for a reason for a whole week. I'm not Stargate/SciFi Savvy, so what I eventually came up with is more me wishing it into existence then it actually being something that would—or could—happen on the show. I was wanting to go in this direction, and have a few stories I'm excited to post in the future, but I needed a tie in._

_So here it is!_

X

Daniel sat up, brought out of his dreams by a pounding on his door.

"Daniel!" he heard Mitchell's voice from the hall. "Daniel, wake up! We've got something."

Disoriented for a moment, Daniel took a second to focus and evaluate what was happening. When it finally registered what Mitchell's calls and their accompanied rattling at his door meant, he bolted out of his bed, recovering from his daze quickly.

He tumbled to his door, groping for the button that would open it.

Thus it was, the first glance Mitchell had of Daniel was boxers, bare chest, and what would have been a rather amusing squint had not the situation demanded haste.

"Uh, okay, first pants, then details," Mitchell reasoned, giving Daniel and up-and-down glance. "Meet us in the briefing room in three," and walked off at a speedy pace in the direction of the specified location.

Daniel looked down at himself, muttered, "Right," and turned to clothe himself.

Three and a half minutes later, the SG team were assembled, though Daniel and Vala were still rubbing their eyes. They'd bumped into each other upon their entry, and a rather awkward mess ensued in which both parties averted their eyes, grunted a few, "Excuse me,"s, and finally found seats opposite each other on either side of the table. The rest of the team, out of courtesy, tried not to stare at the two for longer than necessary.

"Alright," General Landry said as he came to sit at the head of the table. "I was pulled out of a nice, peaceful sleep for this, it'd better be good."

"This nice, peaceful sleep you speak of," interjected Vala, "Is it everything it's cracked up to be?"

"And more," the General grumbled, giving her a look that read, "As important as you both are to this team, I won't take lip from either of you at this hour of night."

Vala simply shrugged, apathetic, exchanging meaningful looks across the table with Daniel.

"Well, what we've come to find," Sam began, attempting to move the conversation past tender subjects, "Is that when you two performed that ritual with the people on P95-900, it was more than just a celebratory ritual for them."

"What does the ritual have anything to do with..." Daniel trailed off. "What's going on?" He finished, rather hesitantly. He glanced quickly up at Vala, and then, seeing that she was also looking at him, averted his eyes once more, annoyed and exhausted beyond comprehension.

"Apparently," Sam continued, "Their people take great joy in genuineness and the honesty between people."

"Yeah, I got that," Daniel muttered, remembering all the compliments and criticism they'd received from each person there.

"Anyway," Samantha proceeded, "They cherish it so much, that they wish to share it with new allies and friends."

"...Okay... so what does this have to do with what is happening to us?" Daniel motioned to himself and Vala.

"Well... The ritual they performed was to give you the ability to know what the other person felt about you."

"I don't understand," Vala finally spoke. "How does that explain the dreams?"

Sam attempted to elaborate. "To fully understand how and why you feel the way you do about each other, you are given what their people consider, 'The Gift', which allows you to both enter a sort of flashback when you fall asleep. The drink you were given in the ceremony contained trace amounts of POMC—"

"The hormone?" Daniel asked, bewildered.

Vala interrupted them. "While it's lovely that the two of you know all these brilliant facts, I'd just like the bare minimum. Not all this balderdash."

"I second that," Mitchell said, holding back a yawn. "Just get to the point Sam, will ya?"

"Basically," Sam said, "You two fall asleep and experience a reenactment of moments you've felt strongly about the other. Even if both of you weren't there, your brains link and choose certain experiences you've had where one or both parties felt a strong feeling of the other. The design is to give you both the ability to understand what you feel towards each other and why."

"Which, in my opinion, is just creepy," Mitchell yawned again.

"That makes two of us," Daniel muttered, twiddling his thumbs.

"Me three," Vala raised her hand, staring down at her booties.

"So..." Daniel probed. "...when does it go away?" It was hard enough to share dreams and memories with Vala—especially when he'd thought his thoughts would only ever be his own and not shared with her—and now he just wanted it to end... before things got more... enlightening.

"Well, that's the thing," Sam answered, glancing down at her hands. "It's a little more complicated than that."

"Don't tell me it's permanent," Daniel groaned.

"No, in fact it will only last about twenty-four more hours," Sam responded, and then paused.

Daniel focused harder on her face. "What is it, Sam?"

"The ritual wasn't just so the two of you could share emotions," she began.

"How could it get any worse?" Mitchell mumbled against the table where he'd laid his forehead—General Landry just rolled his eyes at the younger man. "They already hate each other."

"Well..." Sam hesitated.

"Spit it out, darling!" Vala gasped. "Beauty fades with time, and at the pace you're talking, I won't have any time or beauty left when we leave this room!"

"And you are cutting in to my allotted sleeping time," General Landry reminded her.

Mitchell raised his hand lamely, concurring with the older man.

Sam glanced up awkwardly. "Evidentially the people thought you two were... betrothed..." she trailed off.

Daniel looked at her. "Okay, first of all, how the hell did they gather that? And second of all, what does that mean?"

"Well, as for your first question, you two would be the best judge of that." She eyed them both meaningfully. "And as to your second..." she stuttered, "...well, they... married you."

Again, the room was silent.

"I'm sorry," Mitchell broke the silence, having lifted his head at her conclusion, "Are you telling me that these two kids got hitched?"

Samantha nodded her head.

Mitchell twisted his head to look at Daniel and Vala and stared at them for a moment. And then, "And you didn't _invite _me?" he demanded. "I was going to be your best man!"

"On the contrary, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c interjected, "I have known Daniel Jackson longer and, as you say, 'call dibs.'"

"Will you two be quiet?" General Landry barked, annoyed. He gave the two men a look of admonishment. "It's a well-known fact that Jack O'Neill would be the best man over you two hooligans."

Mitchell and Teal'c chuckled.

"Okay, this is seriously not a laughing matter," Daniel berated.

"Actually, Daniel, I find it rather fascinating." Vala's eyes had gone wide when Sam had announced the news, and a triumphant smile—with a hint of pleasure—broke out across her face.

Though she'd been the bearer of uncomfortable news, Sam had also found it delightfully amusing. "I mean," she chimed in, discomfort aside, "You'd think they would've invited the best friends to the happy day," she joked. "I didn't even get an invitation."

"Oh I would have sent you one, darling, had I known," Vala beamed.

"Okay," Daniel waved his hands, "Does everyone understand the predicament here?"

"What a killjoy," Mitchell muttered to Teal'c. Then he leaned forward, past the big man, and said to Vala, "And on your honeymoon, too."

"I swear, if it wasn't for the fact that he looks ravishing in my underwear," she responded—and at her words, Daniel's eyes went wide with shock, "I'd've ran off with Walter two days ago."

The company of friends burst into cackles, General Landry and Teal'c excluded—though the older man covered a growing grin on his lips, and the Jaffa let a chuckle tremor through his chest.

"You guys have _got _to be kidding," Daniel reacted, stunned, angry, and humiliated. This could _not _be happening to him. Accidentally married a _second _time? The first had worked out, yes, but the second? With _Vala_?

"You guys tied the knot," Mitchell laughed. "And you didn't even know it," his sleep-deprived humor escalating at the realization.

"I don't know what you're fussing about, darling," Vala commented. "Even though you got the proposal all wrong, the sex has been _fabulous_."

Appalled, Daniel blinked. "We have not!—what is so _funny?_"

"Your face, for one," Mitchell managed through a series of guffaws.

"And the manner of your denial," Teal'c offered, smiling slightly.

Daniel's face fell, irritated at his friends' lack of concern, and he looked at Vala. She was beaming at him, batting her eye lashes.

After another moment or two of snickers and wiping of teary eyes, General Landry brought the group to order. "Alright, children. As funny as this seems on the surface, this potentially could be a rather serious matter."

"I should say so," Daniel muttered—rather childishly—as he peered down at his twiddling thumbs.

"We need to figure out what can be done," the General remarked.

"Well, as far as I know," Sam replied, reining in her control, "There is a bond made between the two of them during the ceremony."

"During, or after?" Mitchell joked, evoking an amused smile from Teal'c and a split seconds' loss of control from Samantha.

"That's enough for now," Landry warned, flashing a look of acknowledgement of Mitchell's humor.

"Yes sir," Mitchell replied, smothering a laugh.

"This bond mentally connects them for a certain amount of time _after _the dreams recede."

Daniel grumbled.

She gave him a sweet smile and then continued. "The mental connection won't be fatal if they are separated, as the bracelets were, nor will it cause pain or disorientation with distance—"

"Thank god," Daniel muttered again.

"—But," she continued, glancing at Daniel.

"There's always one of those," he mumbled, sighing and looking up.

"I don't know how long it will last," Sam proceeded. "And they will always have a mental connection, though it won't be as strong as in the beginning, and it could vary in strength or purpose with both of them."

"Define 'mental connection'," Mitchell posed, his elbow propped on the table with his chin in his palm.

"I don't quite understand it fully," Sam answered, "But my suspicion is that when either is in dire need of something, especially when they are in trouble, the other will be notified and drawn to where they are..." She glanced at Daniel and Vala as if that wasn't the extent of her theories, but she allowed them to use their imagination.

"They _literally _have an embedded booty call mechanism," Mitchell noted, not one to internalize his speculations.

Vala looked at Daniel, made a purr—akin to the sound the Cheshire Cat would make—and poor Daniel tired to hide the blush that engulfed his cheeks.

"This is ridiculous," he huffed.

"Can you read my thoughts, darling?" Vala queried.

"Dude, _I _can read your thoughts, and I'm not even in your head," Mitchell commented.

"And there's nothing that can be done?" Daniel asked Sam pleadingly. "No medicine that dampens it, no supersonic wave to get rid of it?"

She shook her head. "It's something to look into, but I highly doubt it."

"Well get on it!" he demanded.

"Jackson, the SGC will focus on things of national security," General Landry barked again. "And your connection with Vala, though obviously offensive to you, is in no way a _threat_ to you or to the universe. In fact, it sounds like a rather interesting way to be able to keep tabs on you both. If we have one of you, we will be able to find the other in case of capture or disappearance."

Daniel groaned.

"As far as I'm concerned, you two are perfectly healthy and kicking."

Mitchell, Samantha, and Teal'c ruptured a laugh.

"But..." Daniel paused. "What about being married?"

Again, chuckles.

"What about it?" Landry countered.

Daniel looked out of the corner of his eye at Vala, then his head followed his gaze. Then he looked back at the General. "I don't want to be married," he stated.

"Again, that's not my problem. If you want to get a divorce, you are going to adhere to the traditions of the culture in which you were married. And—" he added, "I would make sure that that is what you_ both _want to do." He looked at Vala. "Your wife doesn't seem too distressed by the situation."

"Color me floored," she grinned, sitting up in her chair and swiveling giddily. She giggled when Daniel looked at her out of the corner of his eye again, his irritation delightful.

"Then it's settled," Landry said, rising from his seat. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to my quarters to take advantage of the next two hours of sleep I am allowed before I have to relieve General Juan from my post. And if _any_ of you wake me again, so help me, you'll wish you hadn't." He retreated from the room.

Daniel, dropping his face in his hands, let out an exasperated sigh. Then, looking up at Sam, asked, "You said that the dreams would last for only twenty-four more hours?"

"I merely speculated," she returned. "I have no idea when they will recede, only that they will."

"So... this could go on for another week?" His eyes were wide with vexation.

"Possibly," she stated, and Daniel's face fell back into his palms

"Don't you _like_ dreaming about me, Daniel?" Vala pouted, still swiveling.

"No," he said bluntly. His humor had disappeared when it had been established two days ago that both he and Vala were dreaming of each other. Not only was this humiliating, it was also irritating. He just wanted a good night's sleep without someone else's memories in his head.

And now, not only was he dreaming of the one person that annoyed him the most, he was _married _to her. A pretty pickle, this.

"Well, Jackson," Mitchell remarked, rounding the table to stand behind him, "Go get her!" He smiled and slapped Daniel's back, heading to the door.

Vala jumped up and skipped around to stand behind Daniel. She threw her arms around his neck, her hands landing on his chest.

"Don't worry, Cameron," she grinned. "He'll get what's coming to him."

Mitchell snorted and exited the room.

Teal'c stood up, bowed, and said, "My best wishes for your futures. May you both live a happy, long life."

Daniel groaned beneath Vala as the Jaffa followed after Mitchell.

And then it was Samantha's turn. She stood up, gathered the file that had been spread out under elbows, and smiled at them both. "I hope, in one way or another, this works out for good... for the both of you."

Daniel, still not looking up, shook his head in his hands and grunted a response.

Before she left the room, she turned to wink coyly at Vala, and flash her a sweet, knowing smile.

When the room was empty, Vala whispered in Daniel's ear, "Looks like we've got the place to ourselves, Daniel."

Daniel groaned and unwrapped her arms from around him, stood up, and—without looking at her—removed himself from her presence, heading back towards the safety of his room.

The ironic thing about this action, was that Daniel had a flash of unrequited desire to actually make love to her right there on the table, and Vala had been serious about the connotation in her voice. This wasn't just a game for her, though it was ridiculously comical, and though he repressed it, this was more than just a irritating coincidence for him.

And thus he left Vala behind him, outwardly smiling at having predicted what he'd do, but inwardly cringing with his rejection.

And thus she watched Daniel slip from the room, his back tensed with anger, but his heart pounding harder than it had in ten years.

X

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...**


	7. Memory

Hope you enjoyed my first original! I have two more dream chapters until it's all my work. The dreams aren't necessarily important--I merely wanted to humor myself--so you can skip on to the next origianl chapter (Aftermath) if you wish. Again, not the least bit offended. -grins-

X

_"Get out of my way," she said, pointing the gun at him. The look in his eyes told her that he wasn't going to budge. He had his own, rather ridiculous looking weapon pointed at her. "Get out of my way or I will shoot you." She didn't mean it, but she pretended to._

_Slowly, he moved to put his gun down, evidentially believing her. Why wouldn't he? She didn't know him, and she'd kill him if he pointed a gun at her again. No... she wouldn't. But she comforted herself with the pretense of that thought. Plus, he was standing in front of her escape._

_He raised his arms in surrender. He was looking at her, really looking at her, as if he could see her soul in her eyes. As if he really knew her. There was tenderness in his—it pained her not to remember. _

_She was shaking with fear. Two weeks ago, she'd woken up in a building like this one and hadn't remembered anything of her life. Merely flashes of memories filled with demons and fire seemed to give her implications of who she'd been. And in one day, suddenly she was being chased, held captive, and told that she wasn't even from this world. Her instinct was to run—far, far away._

_And then she'd seen him. _

_"You don't remember who you are," he said. "But I do. You won't shoot."_

_She saw his eyes fill with pleading, as if to say, "Prove me right." _

_She wanted to._

Who am I?

_The sounds of gunfire from behind her made her jump. She quickly glanced back, itching to run. She spun around, still pointing the gun at him. She wanted to leave. Now. She wanted to leave and run and hide._

_"If I let you go, I know you're going to make yourself disappear." How did he know her so well? She felt herself torn in two, wanting to run yet yearning to stay with him, not really able to comprehend why. She felt exhausted, as if she'd been in constant motion her whole life—running from something, or someone. Seeing him made her desire to stop. _

_"You've been running so long, it's almost second nature to you." The words were soft, yet penetrating. Was he reading her mind?_

_"You don't remember it," he continued, gazing at her meaningfully, "but you made a decision to stop running." She felt herself caving; slowly the floodgates were opening. "It's over..." he said gently. "Now it's time to come home."_

_Home. The name sounded sweet and secure when he said it, as though he and home were connected. Just as if they were one and the same._

_She was crumbling. The gun in her hand was shaking, hesitating. A tear slid down her cheek. Closing her eyes she shook her head. Her mind saw fragments of memory, people she knew, a place she called home. Daniel._

_And then everything came flooding back—memories of Daniel, his face, his smile. She remembered him, who he was, what he meant to her. Her mind was instantaneously harassed with transparency—recognition hanging like a curtain in her mind. The memory of her life was there, but she couldn't seem to lock on to faces and voices. The only face she knew, with absolute certainty was his._

_She opened her eyes to see him gazing at her, willing her to remember. She remembered._

_"Daniel," she whispered, her voice shaking with shame. _

_When she spoke his name, he began to lower his hands. He hesitated, not from lack of wanting to hold her, but simply making sure not to scare her by moving too quickly._

_She willingly surrendered her gun to him, wordlessly begging him to take it. How could she have pointed the gun at her Daniel? How could she have thought he was against her? Shame engulfed her. She couldn't meet his gaze._

_He stepped closer, hearing in her silence the necessity to be held. He could see in her downcast eyes that she was blaming herself. As he took her in his arms, he again felt the rush of needing to hold her—a rush he'd had many times before, but he once again wrote it off as simply needing to find and hold a sister. But he didn't hold her like a sister. Though he was gentle, and though she clutched him, shaking with fear and sorrow, he dug his face gratefully into her hair, wrapping himself around her. He saw the rest of his team fall into formation behind and off to the side, observing the reunion with knowing smiles. But at that moment all that mattered was that he had his Vala back._

_She held firm to the memory of him smiling playfully down at her—a memory that had happened two and a half weeks before. She took much comfort in the knowledge that whatever happened, Daniel would keep her safe. With her face fitted into crook of his neck, she smelled the familiar scent of him and drew strength from the nearness of him._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1, merely dreaming and pondering....**


	8. Aftermath

New original! Had to have Jack's reaction to all of this thrown in there somewhere. No SG-1 story is complete without a little teasing from O'Neill.

Plus, it further explains some of what is going on with the whole 'marriage' business.

X

"You got _married. _And you didn't _tell me?"_

A look of heartless indifference obscured Daniel's face as he motionlessly stood with his hands on his hips. The humor—once again—was lost on him.

Jack O'Neill had confronted Daniel the moment he'd heard about his friend's impromptu marriage. Of course he'd been exceedingly tickled by the ordeal, but concealed it behind a facade of hurt. For about the first three seconds. And then he'd made a mental note to taunt Daniel any chance that presented itself.

This was his perfect first chance.

Vala, seeming to materialize from the framework of the corridors, bounced to Daniel's side, tossing a loose arm around his shoulders. A wide, devilish grin dwarfed her face. He turned his head slightly, an apathetic grimace twitching at the corners of his mouth. "Yes, and we're happy as a whistle," she declared. Then, an unsettled look crossed her face, and she turned her head so that it was up-close-and-personal with Daniel's. "It... _is _whistle, correct? I'm not using this cultural lingo improperly, am I?"

"It sounded perfect to me," Jack smiled, reassuringly.

Looking at her reliever, she gave him a sweet, happy smile. A giggle bubbled up from her throat, and though Daniel rolled his eyes and unhooked her arm from around his shoulders, her toes danced slightly. Humor was beyond her. She was thrilled.

Groaning, Daniel walked away from the two, mumbling something about, "typical," and, "damn gift," under his breath.

For the next week, he devoted himself to finding anything of use in weaseling his way around his marriage ordeal. If it killed him, he was going to find a loophole. He researched anything he could get his hands on having to do with marriage on other planets to no avail. It frustrated him that she would skip down the hall, whilst he sauntered with his nose in a book he'd picked up on a different world, titled _Rituals, and How They Effect Strangers._ He shouldn't have been disturbed—she always skipped everywhere unless she was bored out of her mind—but he was.

Finally, he approached General Landry. He entered the General's office—the irony not being lost on him that he'd entered in the same manor a year ago, appealing to the older man to let Vala stay.

"Sir, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Speak," Landry sighed, not looking up from the seemingly endless pile of files on his desk.

"I would like to return to the planet where Vala and I were... Well, I'd like to ask the people a few questions."

Landry looked up. "I'm surprised you haven't asked me earlier."

"I... was hoping to find a solution myself. I'm sure the people wouldn't fully appreciate their newly acquired allies to return and demand why an obviously respected ritual was performed on them."

"I see," said the older man, glancing down at the file in his hands. "Well, you have my permission."

"Thank you sir."

"However," Landry added, looking back up, "If you make enemies with them, I'm making you responsible."

Daniel paused. "...Yes sir," he said finally. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

An hour and a half later, Daniel had pulled Vala away from what she claimed an incredibly enthralling magazine—though they both knew she was immensely happy to go off world. Garbed and ready, the five SG-1 members watched the gate dial and finally open a portal. Mitchell had decided they bring the rest of the members along, "In case you two lovebirds say something stupid and the people run after you with pitchforks."

Vala had giggled at this; Daniel had ignored it.

"Though it's been fabulous being your lover, Daniel," Vala said loud enough for the team to hear. Daniel rolled his eyes. She sighed before continuing, "I've always been a free-spirit." She smiled and looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "And free-spirits are hardly containable."

He grunted.

"Hey Danny," Jack's voice broke out from the speakers. Daniel sighed and turned around to see his friend behind the glass in the control room. "Though I'm incredibly offended you didn't invite me to the wedding, I'd be eternally pissed if you don't allow to me see you two have a kid." He was grinning, which meant he was joking, but Daniel glanced at Vala, instantly defensive of her.

But Vala was grinning right back, not allowing the implication that she could never have a baby—Daniel's or anyone else's—ever again. Not after Adria.

And so Daniel, shrugging of the strange, protective instinct over Vala, gave Jack another apathetic grimace, before the team began their assent up the platform.

Moments later, they found themselves on the other side of the event horizon on a planet Daniel and Vala found unsettlingly familiar.

The team trekked a half of a mile to the village. Upon reentry, a woman saw Daniel and Vala and gasped with joy.

"Ah! The Naptuils!" she declared.

"What did she call us?" Mitchell asked, an odd look screwed his face.

"She called us newlyweds," Daniel replied.

"Ah, Sunshine, I know we've had moments of tenderness, but I never—"

"_Vala_ and _I_," Daniel asserted, annoyed.

"Oh, well..."

Samantha gave Mitchell a reproving look and rolled her eyes, though a smile played at her lips.

People had heard the woman's exclamation, and—as in any small town—new traveled fast. Much sooner than any of them had predicted, the SG-1 were hustled into the middle of the village and were presently surrounded by smiling faces and good wishes.

"It seems, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, "That you and Vala Mal Doran have made an impressive impact upon this particular community."

"Indeed," Daniel replied, looking out among the chattering people.

"Ah, Naptuils!" a newly appeared older man said, approaching the team. His hands were outstretched in joyous welcome. "I did not believe to see you so soon! It is an honor to be a part of your lune de miel!"

"Our what?" Mitchell inquired of Daniel—knowing full well, but searching for another chance to tease.

"Honeymoon," Daniel replied.

"Ah, Jackson."

"_Vala _and _I" _Daniel asserted again.

"Well, if you insist," the Colonel conceded, then leaned past Daniel to look at Vala. "You're a very lucky woman."

She smiled, leaned against Daniel, and wrapped an arm around his back, laying her other hand on his arm closest to her. "This I know," she said, grinning up at Daniel.

"You're not making this any easier," Daniel sang out of the corner of his mouth.

"Where's the fun in that, darling?" she inquired.

He groaned, but smiled as the older man stepped forward to embrace him, and then Vala.

"Ah! It is so good to being seeing you again. We celebrated your happiness for ten moons after your departure."

"Ah, man. This is gonna suck," Mitchell whispered to Teal'c after the older man's announcement.

"Yeah, about that," Daniel began.

"It is not as long as we would celebrate for one of our own, but any friend's happiness we see as our own."

"That's.... just... wonderful," Daniel said, a tight smile on his lips.

"Oh yeah," Mitchell mumbled. "This is bad."

"Will you not introduce me to your friends?"

"Ah... yes," Daniel said, taken aback. He'd forgotten this was the first trip the rest of the team had made to this planet.

Daniel introduced the SG-1 team. "And this is Malac," he said, turning to the older man. "He's the one who, uh... married us."

"It is nice to be meeting you, friends of Naptuils." Malac smiled and bowed.

"The feelings are mutual, I assure you," Samantha said.

"We actually came to talk to you about something," Daniel addressed the man.

"Speak it and it shall be yours," Malac grinned.

"We don't... actually _want_ anything." This was going to be a pain in the ass. "We just came to... inquire about... a few things..." And already he was crashing and burning.

Malac smiled and bowed again. "We shall give truth to whatever you may ask."

"Actually, do you think we could speak in private?" Daniel asked.

The man seemed momentarily confused. "But it is gample-nuri. It is time we mingle and talk with everyone."

"I just—just for a moment," Daniel insisted, holding up two fingers and pinching them together, indicating a short amount of time.

Unwillingly, Malac agreed finally. He led them to what they all assumed was his house, not a hundred yards away from the town square. When the door was closed and everyone was inside, Daniel addressed the matter at hand.

Mitchell and Vala had both claimed a seat, Teal'c was at the window, glancing out every once in a while—the instinctive action. Samantha stood behind Vala, as any friend would.

"Is something the matter?" Malac asked, seeing the unsettled look on Daniel's face.

"Well, as a matter of fact... yes..."

"I hope it is not pain that _we_ have caused."

"No, no one is in pain," Daniel replied. "We're just... kind of confused."

Malac stood, hands folded in front of him. "If I know the truth for your questions, I shall give it."

"Well, you see..." Daniel began again. "The... ceremony that you performed over Vala and I—"

"The malri-aye," Malac nodded.

"Yes, you performed a ritual, bestowed us the 'gift'," Daniel said, speaking the facts.

"We did. And no couple needed it more." Malac grinned, meaningfully.

"Right..." Daniel glanced at Vala and then back at the older man. "Well, you see... we didn't..._ need_ the gift."

"Oh dear, were you going to perform another ceremony of its kind on your planet?" Malac asked, suddenly tense and worried.

"No. No. That's just it," Daniel said. "We weren't..._engaged._"

He said it, but Malac gave him a look that informed Daniel he didn't understand.

"We weren't..." Daniel attempted to explain, "Together?"

"But, you love her," Malac stated, still confused.

"I—" Daniel, taken off guard again, glanced at the team and then back at Malac. "No—I mean, yes, I do, but not like... that."

"What he means to say, darling," Vala interjected, standing up and walking around the table to stand by Daniel, "is that he's desperately in love with me, but on _his_ planet, the correct pursuit of a woman—particularly when one is in love with her—is to ask her permission first. Which he still hasn't done."

Daniel rolled his eyes, closed them, and shook his head. Hopeless.

Malac looked stunned. "You mean to say—"

"That we hadn't set the date, because he hasn't asked me yet. And on _his _planet," she said and turned to look at Daniel, who was just staring down at her, "the asking is a very big deal." Then she turned back to look at Malac. "We were just hoping that there was a way to break the bond so that we can perform the ceremony on our planet. He's always been one for tradition, and this tradition has been passed down through many generations."

"You are not from his planet?" Malac inquired, momentarily sidetracked.

"No," she smiled. "We met on a ship. Daniel, here, fell madly in love at the first sight of me, kissed me, and called me a fruitcake."

"Sounds like Sunshine," Mitchell chuckled from the chair behind them.

"Apparently, that's another one of their delicious traditions on their planet," she grinned at Malac.

"But you travel with them," the older man said, suddenly very inquisitive.

"Yes. Now live on their planet, though it wasn't for the entertainment, I assure you."

"Yes, let's all wonder _why_ you stay with us, again," Daniel suggested, looking down at her.

"Not now, darling," she said—softly, playfully, brushing her fingers through his hair.

"But you do live on the same planet, and travel with each other?" Malac repeated, as if attempting to console himself.

Daniel looked at the man, confusion written on his face. "Yes, she does."

Malac's face fell into relief. And then he said, "There is no way to break the bond, of this I am sorry."

Daniel's hope evaporated.

"But it is not fatal, and it will not pain you with distance," Malac continued. "However, if it is truth that you," he indicated Daniel, "planned to ask her to bond with you, then your ceremony can be performed and everything will be as it should."

"And what if I don't ask her?" Daniel said, impulsively.

Malac paused, once again confused.

"I mean..." Daniel attempted to retrace his steps. "What if... we are forbidden to marry because of the rules and regulations of my people?" He said it and then realized the absurdity of his words. Mitchell slightly snorted behind him. Eloquence was not on Daniel's side today.

"Then you should be happy that we gave you the gift!" Malac exclaimed, grinning anew.

Daniel dropped his head. So this was his answer. "At least tell me the dreams go away."

"They haven't stopped?"

Daniel and Vala looked at each other and then at Malac.  
"No," they replied in unison. Neither of them desired to replay private memories when they knew another was also receiving the signal. Not only was it intrusive, it was hauntingly unsettling.

"Oh, well, when we bestow it upon our neighbors, we usually don't ask how long they..." he trailed off shyly. "I, myself have performed the ritual with my wife, and it lasted about three days."

"Three days!" they again said in unison.

"It's been seven!" Daniel stated.

"Oh my. I do apologize." Malac hung his head repentantly. "I suppose it's because you haven't..." He averted his eyes. "Consummated your love," he whispered.

"And... of course." Daniel said. Why wasn't he surprised?

Vala perked up. She turned her head to look at Daniel, a smile playing at her mouth. "Sex, darling. We have to have sex."

"Not in this lifetime or the next," he growled.

"But, don't you wish to become one?" Malac asked, perplexed.

"I—we..." Daniel stuttered. "Not... right now."

Malac's worry faded. "In either case, they should not last but a few nights longer, I promise."

"I'll hold you to it," Daniel mumbled under his breath.

"We're married, Daniel," Vala giggled and leaned against him.

"And no one can refuse you that request," Malac said, satisfied.

"Well, Sunshine, not like I would have been the one to do it, but looks like I _can't_ stop you from marrying the princess," Mitchell said, standing up with the intention of moving the party towards the door.

"Princess?" Malac said, eyes growing wide.

"Not... a _real _princess," Vala soothed him.

"I don't understand."

"Neither do we," Samantha said, giving Mitchell an amused look.

"Well," Mitchell stretched, "Guess it's time we take our leave."

"So soon?" Malac pleaded.

"We have to return and tell the king that his daughter's run off and eloped with the stable boy." Mitchell approached the door and Teal'c followed close behind him.

"Stable boy?" Malac asked again, eyes wider than before.

"Again, he's kidding." Samantha looked pointedly at Mitchell, and shook her head.

"I do not like the lies your people speak against each other," Malac concluded.

"It's not a lie," Vala said warmly. "Just a joke."

"A lie is a lie," Malac stated and glared at Mitchell. "You choose strange friends, Naptuils."

"Right," Cameron said, growing increasingly uncomfortable. "Let's go."

"Thank you for your time and your truth," Samantha smiled at Malac.

He bowed. "Truth is wonderful to give." Then he turned to Daniel and Vala. "And may your lives be full of eternal happiness. I am sorry if it is disturbance we have caused you."

Daniel gave him a tight smile and followed after Mitchell.

Vala just smiled after Daniel, then turned to Malac, kissed him on the cheek, and skipped off in pursuit of her husband.

Malac watched as the strangers walked towards the town square. A smile played at his mouth as he thought to himself what a grand thing it was to bring together two lovers pitted against great and terrible odds. Thinking himself a saint, he left his house to rejoin with the villagers.

The last thing Daniel felt before he dematerialized through the Stargate, was the connection with Vala's mind—her giddy amusement at his failure to get them divorced, and the touch of pleasure at the thought of being his wife.

"_Well?_" Jack inquired as the team walked through the Stargate.

Daniel ignored him, walked past him, and disappeared through the blast doors.

"I take it, it didn't go well?"

"Not for Daniel," Vala said, removing her vest.

"That's... too bad." He looked after Daniel, and then turned to face Vala. "So... what planet did you two lovebirds accidentally get hitched on?" As he said it, his eyes flickered to where Samantha stood, shaking her head—an amused, knowing smile playing at her lips. "I'd like to visit sometime," he concluded.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...


	9. Minds

Here's the last dream, guys. This one is from The Quest, Part II.

I had a few more flashbacks I had considered, but this will be my final one. From now on, the stories will be my own stuff. As far as I know...

I'm excited to post some of the stories I've been working on that happen later on. I've got some quirky ones coming up, but they will have to wait a few more chapters. Don't want to give you all the good stuff upfront. What kind of writer would I be if I did that?

X

_ "Trust me, I can handle this." He'd said it, but she hadn't believed him._

_ Standing in Merlin's room—or at least a replica of the one where he'd done all of his work. Daniel wavered under the influence of what was happening to him. And Vala didn't like it. An hour ago he'd moved something with his mind, and was now using an advanced, Ancient device to create a weapon only Merlin knew how to assemble—apparently because Merlin, himself was inside his mind... and Daniel was slipping out of her grasp._

_ She gave Mitchell a worried look as Daniel stepped back from the console once more—staggered, was more like it. In that moment, Vala's insides burned to help him. _

_ "I must rest," he said, words that sounded foreign, like he hadn't been the one who'd said them... As if her Daniel had stepped out of his own mind for a moment and let another take his place. _

_ And then he, or whoever was inside his head, said, "I'm not as young as I used to be."_

_ Finding the revelation oddly amusing, though altogether distressing, Vala followed him to the bench. He lowered himself slowly, every joint and muscle in his body screaming at him, and his mind pounding within his skull._

_ "Daniel?" she asked him, bending down in front of him. "Are you alright?" Her words were soft and sweet. Almost loving._

_ Drunkenly he breathed hard and looked at her strangely, as if he'd forgotten who she was. "I know you," he mused, straining._

_ "Well, of course you do, silly," she said chipperly, though still soft. "It's_ me.... Vala_." Her eyes shone with a dull hue of fear. What was happening up there in that big head of his? She smiled up at him, though for the sake of reassuring him or herself she hardly knew._

_ He thought a moment, and then a slow, heavy smile slipped across his face. He reached up a tired hand to cup her cheek._

_ Stunned, but still smiling, she lifted her hand to cover his. _My god, something was _very _wrong.

_ "I had the strangest dream," he breathed, not quite looking at her, but floating his thoughts in a pool of memories. "Everything was covered in ice." He mused on is a daze._

_ Fear electrifying her body, she shifted her face against his hand, searching for Mitchell's response to all of this. _

_ The Colonel just stood off at a distance, in a worried, thoughtful stance. "Jackson," he said, attempting to evoke some kind of recognition from his friend. Vala returned her gaze to Daniel._

_ Daniel didn't respond._

_ Cameron stepped towards the pair, he put his hand on the man's shoulder and shook it gently. "Daniel," he repeated._

_ As if being pulled out of a dream, Daniel snapped back to reality, though still momentarily groggy. He blinked, he breathed, and looked around him. "What's going on?"_

_ "We're losing you," Vala stated, pulling his face back to look at her. "That's what going on."_

_ His face was inches from hers, but he was millions of miles away._

_ "Every time you come back from that machine it gets a little worse." She turned to point at the Ancient console that had been stealing his soul for the past hour. Then she looked him in the eyes, her voice cracking a little. "And don't tell me you're fine." _Because I know you aren't. _Her concern, her fear for his well-being, her desire to save him, her anguish at having to remind him who she was, all bubbling up in her words. Her eyebrows furrowed in sadness, tears taunting her eyes._

_ "No, I just have too many thoughts in my head," he replied, shaking his head. His eyes were closed, as if Daniel was trying to catalog all of Merlin's thoughts. Stuttering in the way he always did, Daniel tried to explain. "I can't concentrate. I get confused."_

_ She smiled, encouraging. "You have to _fight _it," she reasoned, aching to save him._

_ "No!" was his hoarse, whispered reply. "No, no. That's the thing." His hands cupped his temples and he opened his eyes. "I have to let it happen." His eyes were wide, as if seeing a thousands different things at once."That's the only way I can build Merlin's weapon." He breathed deeply again._

_ Vala, speechless, sat before him, staring sadly, helplessly up at him. She cocked her head to look at Mitchell who was leaned up against the wall of the room, his face mirroring her emotions._

_ Daniel began to stand up, pressing his weight on Vala's shoulder for support. She offered it willingly. He staggered towards the console, his breath heavy. Cameron stepped forward to pat him on the back._

_ Vala stood up to meet Cameron, deciding if anyone in this situation could make Daniel stop, it was his commanding officer. She grabbed him from behind, forcing him to turn and look at her. "You have to tell him that he doesn't have to do this. He'll listen to you."_

_ He shook his head, "What team have you been on? Besides... We need this one," he mused. Vala was appalled at his hesitancy to jump to intercept Daniel._

_ "Wh—what makes you even think we'll be allowed to use it?" Excuses, excuses. "The Ancients didn't even let Merlin get away with it."_

_ "Vala. Vala! Shh!" He silenced her, though not without protest. "Shut up," he whispered a forceful command. "For once."_

_ She stared at him, hurt. Was she the only one who wanted to stop Daniel? To save him?_

_ Mitchell glared at her, and she returned his with one of her own. She was stunned._

_ "We have to take the risk," he said, turning away from her towards the exit. _

_ She paused for a second, staring off into the distance. It was all becoming clear now—she really was the only one who cared about Daniel. At this moment in time, the universe could go to hell; she didn't care. Daniel was the only thing that mattered. And Mitchell didn't see it. She turned, her mouth open. "What?" she asked, shocked._

_ She saw it now. She scoffed and trailed after Mitchell. "Look, this is all about _no _sacrifice for _you_, isn't it?"_

_ "Whoa, whoa, I'm sorry," he turned, exasperated. "What about _you_?"_

_ "What?" she asked innocently._

_ "When you flew that cargo ship into the gap at the super gate, you knew_ damn _well you might not come out the other side alive."_

_ She averted her eyes. No, this wasn't about her. "No, no. That was different," she replied, turning away from him._

_ "Yeah, different 'cause _you,_" he grabbed her arm and yanked her back to face him, "...were the one taking the risk."_

_ She yanked right back, fighting him physically to mask that she knew he was right. But he was completely wrong. This was Daniel they were talking about. Daniel._

_ He grabbed her by the the vest, shaking her a little so she would look him in the eye and stop fighting. She complied, though a bitter pout met his gaze, not a defiant glare._

_ "Now you know," he breathed, "the _hard _part about being part of this team is _not _risking your own life."_

_ Tears welled up in her eyes. Daniel._

_ "It's watching your _friends_," he continued, "take chances with _theirs._"_

_ She felt her throat closing up. She couldn't stand this. _

_ "Congratulations," he said, still boaring his eyes into hers. "Now you really _are_ one of us."_

_ She was falling apart. She couldn't handle this. She wanted to run away from this feeling, far away from the realization that she was going to lose her Daniel._

_ But she couldn't._

_ Mitchell left her alone with a man who was slowly fading, slowly losing himself... slowly leaving her behind._

_ Turning, she stared at Daniel—now almost one with the machine. In her head, she knew Mitchell was right, this was worth taking the chance. They'd have a weapon to fight off the Ori. They'd have an upper hand. _

_ But in her heart, Vala wept bitterly. Even if this worked, everyone lost... _she _lost... because Daniel would be lost. A very real, very urgent need to stand beside him and slip her arms around his waist—to breathe in his scent—shook through her._

_ But Vala just stood there, helpless and alone, watching the slow decay of the man she'd known and who'd possibly never come back. A tear slid down her face, and she turned her gaze away. She couldn't leave, couldn't run away... not this time. But neither could she witness Daniel's demise. She wasn't ready for that._

_X_

_ She tapped on the keys, aggravated, irritated. When her fingers refused to type the letters her head was commanding them to, she banged on the keyboard, bearing down the distress in her mind on the innocent, inanimate object. As if her problem was with it. She growled slightly. "There _has _to be a way to get back on that planet."_

_ As hard as it had been for her to watch Daniel's will slowly slip away, much harder had been leaving him behind on a planet with her universe-domination hungry daughter. The last she saw of her Daniel had been of Adria glaring down at him—power streaming from her body—and Daniel crouching under the weight of her strength. He was yelling at them to leave, that he could hold her off, but not for long. Mitchell had dragged Vala through the Stargate, though she fought for him to let her go._

_ But even harder still, was the madness of not knowing if he was dead or alive. She _had _to find him. If there was a chance, she _had _to save him._

_ It was that, or fade into nothingness. Because nothing was what mattered without Daniel._

X

Vala's eyes fluttered open. The last thing she'd dreamed lay heavy on her mind. Had that been something she'd actually felt? She hadn't remembered needing him that much. Could it be possible that she had... she _did..._

Love him?

That couldn't be possible. No. She'd never let anyone get that close to her—especially not letting them command her soul and her heart.

But as she lay there, unsuccessfully attempting to force herself back to sleep, she realized she'd let Daniel in a long time ago. She couldn't remember when she'd opened the door, but for a very long time, he'd meant everything to her. Why had she let this happen?

How could she stop it?

X

Pacing, Daniel tried to think of anything but this last dream. It was a lie—an illusion. Vala hadn't really felt that way. Dreams always amplified thoughts and feelings three times over.

He consoled himself with this thought. It was the only way he'd be able to face her tomorrow. If he let himself think that she felt that deeply towards him, there would be nothing he could do to stop himself from hurting her. Because he damn well knew _he _didn't feel that about _her. _He didn't want her to leave, because she'd become a much cherished—though sometimes irritating—presence. But he didn't love her like that.

He didn't love her like that.

He didn't love her like that...

He didn't...

Did he?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...**


	10. Keys

_Short, but quirky. _

_From now on, I am focusing on the two of them. I may throw in a mission here and there, but it will mostly be just centered around our Naptuils!_

X

She waited. Finally, the door opened to reveal a disoriented Daniel, bare chested, and ridiculously beautiful.

"What do you want?" he croaked.

Fidgeting cutely, she replied, "I lost my key card again. Can I sleep with you?"

He groaned. "That's the third time this _week._"

"I _know,_" she whined. "I just keep leaving it places and I can't remember where I put them." She though a moment. "Actually... I think I locked the last one in my room."

He growled, leaving the door. Not sure if that was an invitation, Vala slipped into his room.

"No. Out," he said when he saw that she'd entered.

"Well, you weren't specific when you disappeared into your room. I thought maybe you were finally giving in."

He had walked over to his bedside table and retrieved a key card—one of two. "So this is what it's all about? You lose your card and bother me until I wear down and finally let you sleep in my bed?"

"Well... I wouldn't put it _that _way," she said. She pivoted at the waist.

Sighing, he handed her the key card in his hands.

"You keep a key to my place in your room, how romantic."

"Yeah. Romantic. I keep a key in my room, because you always lose yours and then run to me. Go to bed. And if you lose your card _again, _don't come to _me._"

"Who else am I going to go to, Daniel? You're my husband."

"There's still a debate about that." He grumbled and moved towards his bed.

"We're married, darling. What debate is there about the fact that you and I hitched a wagon and now..." her animation puttered a moment. "You refuse to hop on," she concluded.

"That's that's that's that's not _even _an _issue_ right now," he stuttered. "As far as I'm concerned, _we_," he motioned between them, "are not married. _We_ are not getting it on, because _we—" _

"I get it, Daniel," she said, obviously put out. "We are complete opposites and what could you _possibly _see in me? Aside from my ravishing body and sexy accent, that is." She stuck up her nose, rebuffed but not defeated, and stomped—like a child—toward the door.

Daniel just rolled his eyes.

She paused before exiting. "And regardless of what you think, I didn't lose my key cards just so I could see the inside of your..." she disapprovingly glanced around, "particularly dull room." But then, reconsidering her statement, she added, "At least, not the first time.... nor the second. Well, maybe the second." Puffing up like a peacock, "Goodnight, Daniel."

"Good_night!_" he exclaimed, exasperated.

He heaved a growl as the door shut behind her. God, he'd been in a delightfully blissful sleep when she'd banged on his door. Now he had a headache. She could give him the worst ones.

Though he'd never admit to it, he whimpered slightly as he stumbled towards the light switch, and then fell back into bed. He didn't even bother to cover himself with his sheets. Sighing and breathing deeply the sweet air—though it was fragrant with a hint of strawberries, thanks to Vala's recent presence—he let his eyes close. Sleep lapped against the edge of his mind. And then—

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

He whimpered again. Shoving himself from the bed, he crossed the distance to the door...again.

Upon opening the door, he saw that she was grinning. He didn't even want to try to understand her humor.

"What?" he snapped.

She held up the key card. "It's the wrong one," she said giving him an apologetic smile.

Spinning around, he groaned, stomped to his bedside table, and snatched up the second card. Practically throwing it at her and yanking the other from her fingers, he slammed the door in her face, not providing her with enough time to apologize or thank.

Out in the hall, Vala stood in front of his door, just chuckling to herself. Boy, this was going to be fun. She skipped back down the very short hall to her room.

In his room, Daniel repeated his previous actions following her first departure. Then, in a desperate desire to console himself that if she came back, he'd have more back ups, he flipped on the lamp and yanked open the drawer of the table. It was satisfyingly full to the brim with replacement key cards to Vala's room. He'd had them made the day before—after the second week in a row she'd come to his room at night petitioning for help. The times before, he'd walked with her to get another one, falling asleep as much as four times—not managing to stay away long enough to return—and waking up the next morning _not _in his bed with an extremely painful crick in his neck. The thought exhausted him so much that he'd made a point to prepare for another recurrence of Vala at his door, having lost her key card.

But now he drifted off into a rather pleasant sleep, knowing that he'd outwitted her this time.. And by the count of the cards in his drawer, for about a hundred more such times. Smiling at his own brilliance, Daniel remembered no more.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...**


	11. Dance

_There was another story I wanted to post, but it didn't seem to have much meat to it, other than being fun and quirky. I decided to skip it. Sometimes being a writer means sacrificing some things that you enjoy personally, but know in the back of your mind that others wouldn't find it as exciting. So, moving on..._

_The next three (Dance, Music, and Q&A), I have been _dying _to post! I was totally inspired to write these, and I really hope you think they are as cute as I do. If you don't laugh, at least tell me if you smile...._

X

"Oh my god!"

Daniel sighed and hung his head. Her exclamation hadn't been the first, and evidentially not the last. Swiveling in his desk chair, to face her, he folded his arms and gave her an exasperated look.

She was, however, completely oblivious.

Her eyes were glued to the screen of her new, ridiculously pink laptop. It rested on her lap as she sat comfortably in her new chair that Daniel had allowed her to order out of a catalog. It, too, was absurdly pink, and—to Daniel's horror—was fuzzy. It reminded him of a chair he'd seen sitting in the corner of a teenage girl's room in a movie Vala had dragged him to. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why he'd permitted her to, but he'd been officially emasculated when he'd walked into a movie named _Kiss and Make Out_. He'd been twice as short-tempered with her the rest of the week, just to spite her.

When she'd ordered the chair, she'd been particularly excited about it, raving about how it was so easy to fold and take with her anywhere she went. And thus he found himself being stalked by a black-haired pixie from his office to the examination room where he translated tablets. She'd gone so far as to take it with her into the briefing room, but one look from General Landry and she'd decided never to try it again. She followed him everywhere, it had almost gotten to the point where he drew stares when she _wasn't _with him. Sometimes, he wished she'd bought a normal chair and had placed it in a permanent place—preferably not in a room in which he made a regular appearance.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed again with impossibly more surprise than any of the last ten times she'd said it. Her face was engulfed in a smile.

"Vala."

She didn't look up. He realized she was wearing earphones. She must be listening to some new song or watching a new video.

He heaved a sigh. "Vala!"

She jerked her head up. "Yes, Daniel?"

He motioned for her to remove her earphones. She complied—unwillingly.

When he had her attention—and her ear—he addressed the matter at hand. "Could you _maybe_ keep it down a bit?" He knew it was useless to ask, but he figured he'd try.

"Daniel," she said, obviously not registering his request. "Did you know about this... Single Ladies video?"

"Uh... no." He pinched the bridge of his nose. He prepared himself for a long-winded monologue about how she'd found it.

As if on cue, "I read about it in a CosmoGirl magazine," she gazed back down at the computer screen. "Evidently, this 'Bouncy' woman filmed a video of herself and two other women dancing and singing to her song. The dancing is _fantastic_!"

"Yes, well—"

But before he could finish that thought, she made another shriek of pleasure. "Oh, Daniel! There is a 'Learn to dance like Bouncy'!" She grinned up at him, clapping her hands giddily. Jumping up, she placed the laptop on her chair, adjusting the screen to her satisfaction, and hit the 'play' button.

Daniel, having witnessed many such extremities in the past, was hardly shocked at her response.

God, this woman gave him the _worst_ headaches.

He was sighing, fractionally amused at watching her learn how to dance to the Single Ladies music video, when Mitchell walked in.

"Whoa," was the Colonel's first reaction. He glanced at Daniel. "So... what's she stumbled upon now?"

"The Single Ladies video," Daniel said, detached.

"Huh."

The two men watched her, momentarily speechless and unmoving.

"Ah!" she growled when she missed a step and messed up the entire move. Grumbling, she rewound the video. She repeated this sentiment a few more times before Mitchell pivoted towards Daniel. "She _does_ know it takes dancers..._days _to master dance numbers, right?"

Without glancing away from her, Daniel rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Would it change much?"

"Probably not."

Again, they observed her a moment.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, entering the room and stopping at the scene taking place before him.

"Single Ladies video," Mitchell said over his shoulder.

"Indeed."

Now there were three men watching Vala as she huffed, puffed, and giggled—mastering each new move in succession. It hardly seemed odd or abnormal to any of them that nothing was getting accomplished. Of course, neither did any of them move to catch her the many times her legs got twisted and she plummeted to the ground.

"How long before she gets bored?" Mitchell posed.

"Five minutes," Daniel guessed.

"Five bucks?"

"You're on."

"What about you, big guy?"

"For my part, Colonel Mitchell, I hope she enjoys this particular activity much longer than five minutes."

Mitchell chuckled and turned back to look at Vala, cocking his eyebrow. "You're _not _the only one."

Daniel made no comment.

"Yo, Danny." Jack O'Neill trotted into the room.

"You're a popular man, today, Jackson," Mitchell noted.

"Hm."

Pausing, as the others had done, Jack had first noted the trio of men motionlessly assembled about the room. His initial response was, "Wha—?" though when he saw Vala, the confusion was thinned.

"Single Ladies video," Teal'c said, leaning towards Jack.

"Ah." Jack acknowledged. "Right."

With the newest addition to the ensemble, the four men watched, entranced.

"We got a... thing going 'round?" Jack inquired after making a pained face when Vala growled again and rewound the last few seconds of the instruction video.

"Sunshine's got five bucks on the next five minutes," Mitchell replied.

"Actually, it's... four minutes now," Daniel said, glancing at his watch. "And... three minutes."

"Ten bucks on twelve and a half minutes," Jack proffered.

The three men turned to look at him.

"What?" he said, raising his arms at half mast. "You make your bets, and I'll make mine."

Each of the other men, in turn, made an apathetic face, and all returned their gazes towards Vala.

A moment longer, nothing of extreme importance happened. With the occasional trip and fall, huff and puff, and the delighted, solo applause from the dancing princess, five minutes slipped by. And then six—Daniel handed Mitchell his five dollars. Then ten minutes. Then fifteen—Jack surrendered his cash. Then...

"Daniel," Sam said, entering the room and colliding against Jack's back with an, "Ooph!"

"_Seriously,_" Mitchell half-turned to Daniel. "I wish _I_ was sought out this much."

Daniel smiled.

Sam was hardly acknowledged. "Um, hello? What's going on?"

"Single Ladies dance video," all four men informed her over their shoulder—the phrase and motion having reached the point of redundancy with Teal'c.

Sam observed the men for a moment, amused—and to say the least, rather disgusted. Men. "You guys are pathetic," she accused.

"Yep."

"You got that right."

"Indeed."

"Cha!"

Dumbfounded, Sam shook her head. When Vala fell again, attempting the hip swirl to the floor, one leg outstretched move, and none of the men moved to assist her, Sam could stand it no longer.

"All right, you guys." She marched into the center of the room and stood with her hands on her hips.

"Samantha, darling," Vala protested.

"No, Vala," Sam countered. "If these men are going to stand—and _sit,_" she motioned to Daniel, "here and merely watch you, _ignoring_ all of the pressing things that need to be done around here, they could at least help you up when you fall down."

"Hello, boys," Vala grinned mischievously at her audience.

"Now," Sam continued, dismissing Vala's lack of concern, "You are all either going to return to work, or so help me..."

"What?" Jack asked, innocently throwing up his arms in defense, oblivious to what they'd been doing wrong.

"I'm with Jack on this one," Mitchell said, his arms crossed.

Sam just glared at them and jerked her finger to the door. "Got a universe to save, people. Get your heads in the game."

The two officers grumbled, slouching their shoulders with their retreat. Teal'c merely followed them in silence. Vala smiled suggestively and waved at they disappeared through the door.

"But she's in my office," Daniel whined. "How am _I _supposed to concentrate?"

"Find a different room," Sam stated.

"But... it's _my _office!"

"Get earplugs. Geez, do I have to solve _every _problem in the known galaxy?" She stomped out of the room, forgetting what it was she'd originally come to see Daniel for.

Daniel sighed, exasperated, and swiveled in his chair to face his work once more.

A moment, Vala stood in the middle of the room, swinging her leg innocently, and staring after Samantha. When she was certain her friend wasn't coming back, she giggled, pivoted on her toes; and pressed the play button once more—picking up where she left off.

Closing his eyes, Daniel dropped his head lamely.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...**


	12. Music

_A little bit of Jesse McCartney humor. If you don't get it, I won't be offended. But, as I said in the last chapter, I was inspired. _

X

"You know, if she wants _real _dance music, she should listen to hip hop." Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, and Cameron were all sitting, eating lunch.

"Define.... hip hop," Cameron asked Jack, skeptical.

"You know," Jack motioned, "Timberland, Little Wayne... Flo Rida." When he mentioned the last one, Jack made gangster motions to compliment his suggestion.

"Oh god," Cam gasped, chuckling with amusement. "You _so _did not just say 'Flo Rida' in gangster talk."

Jack blinked. "Yeah," he said, as if it had only been natural to do so.

"And you _can't _be telling me that _that _is what you listen to."

"Among others," Jack replied, getting defensive.

"Like who?" Mitchell teased. "Don't tell me you listen to Usher, Justin Timberlake, and..." he fumbled for another ridiculous artist, "...Jesse McCartney."

Jack just blinked, then stared down at his food.

"Oh god," was Cameron's response. He muffled a chuckle behind his hand, and then, "How do you _sleep?_"

Jack gave him an unimpressed, "You are hilarious," glance.

At this, Cameron broke into uncontrolled chuckles, playing with his food. A smile played on Daniel's lips as well, though Teal'c simply sat, oblivious to the humor. He found the names of the artists Jack O'Neill had suggested rather ridiculous in sound. But, then again, all names had seemed such on this planet. He'd gotten used to it.

"Seriously, Jack," Cameron said, shaking his head. "Little Wayne?"

"Well, gee. Who do _you _suggest?" _Little twerp, _Jack thought to himself.

"Well, let's see..." Cameron named off a few artists.

"Ah, those are all in the rap genre," Jack countered, satisfied that he'd put the boy in his place.

"But," Cam leaned in, "That is _good_ music."

"You know," Daniel interjected, "I find it amusing that you guys listen to... ear-busting, mind-numbing noise that doesn't enhance your mind at all."

"Ah yes," Jack mocked. "Coming from the guy who listens to sleep-inducing music."

"It's stimulating. It helps me think." Daniel returned, now taking the defensive stance.

"I'd say." Jack feigned a yawn. "It stimulates me to fall asleep."

Cameron chuckled, suddenly taking Jack's side.

"Oh, well, what about Flo Rida?" Daniel ridiculed, throwing in the motions as well.

"Relaxing."

"For some," Cam mumbled, apparently indecisive about who to permanently back up.

"How in the world can you find _that_ relaxing?"

"Well, as you said," Jack countered, "It's mind-numbing."

"Yes, and I also said ear-busting noise."

"Hey guys." Sam smiled, approaching the table of testosterone.

"Not a word," Jack warned Cameron, leaning in and giving the younger man a dark look.

"Embarrassed?" Cam teased.

"Embarrassed about what?" Sam inquired, sitting down next to Jack.

"That he listens to Little Wayne and Flo Rida," Cameron chuckled.

"You do?" Sam questioned, amusement bubbling up as she twisted open the lid of her water bottle.

"And, apparently Jesse McCarntney as well," Cam informed her.

"Oh no," she said, turning to face Jack. "How do you _sleep?_"

Cameron and Daniel burst into laughter. "That's what I said," Cameron guffawed.

"God, is _nothing _sacred around here?" Jack complained, throwing up his arms.

"You brought it up," Cam reflected.

"And the requested a _mum's the word_ about it."

"It sounded like you forbade him, actually," Daniel stated.

"That's what it sounded like to me," agreed Cameron.

"I, as well, heard the specific inflection of a demand, Jack O'Neill," Teal'c finally chimed in.

Jack threw up his hands in defeat.

A moment of pleasant silence slipped by.

And then, "Jesse McCartney?" Sam teased, giggling.

"Gah!" Jack gasped, exasperated. "I'm leavin'," he growled, stood up, and stomped off.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...**


	13. Q&A

_This one was _ridiculously _fun to write. Hope I don't offend anyone. It was written in humor. This is _Vala_ we are talking about. -chuckles-_

X

"Daniel," her accent brought him out of his translations. She had entered the examination room minutes before holding her iPod, earphones lodged in her ears. She had sauntered over to the little basket full of magazines she'd collected over the past year she'd been at the SGC. Daniel had wordlessly claimed this particular room as his own, filling it with books and scrolls that he'd found or was in the process of translating. Naturally, Vala had followed suit, claiming a corner for herself. No one else was allowed to touch it.

Now, listening to music, her feet were unconsciously tapping to the beat. And there was something rather mesmerizing happening with her hips...

"Hm," he responded, distracted.

She turned to him, turning down the volume a tiny bit. "Have you ever heard of this music they call Hip Hop?"

He raised an eyebrow, not looking up. Had he ever heard of it. What did she think he was, a hermit?

He didn't want an answer to that question.

"Yes, of course I've heard of it," he answered, furrowing his brow at a distinctively hard phrase in the book before him.

Wait... Hip Hop? ...His face fell.

Jack.

"I can't believe you haven't introduced me to it before," she pouted. "It's positively, sexually stimulating." And then, "I love it." She grinned up at him.

"That's predictable," he mused, and then glanced up to look at her. "It's repulsive noise with blatantly suggestive lyrics that merely leave one appalled and with an extreme hangover headache."

She grinned wider.

"And that's.... why you like it."

She nodded. "Apart from the headache," she frowned. "I've been listening to it for about an hour, and I haven't seemed to catch one."

"Yes, well," Daniel said, returning to his work. "Just wait for the morning after," he mumbled under his breath.

She bobbed her head and shook her hips for a few seconds. And then she moved to stand next to his chair. "I just don't understand this.... 'shawtie' terminology. What does it mean, exactly?"

"Uh..." She'd caught him off guard. "Where did you... hear that?"

"This song called 'Low' by someone called Flo Rida. It's a ridiculous name but a rather fascinating song."

Daniel paused. "I—It's.... a very attractive..." he stammered. "Um... Ask Mitchell."

She seemed momentarily satisfied.

Her music must have been on the loudest possible setting, because he could hear it as she danced and bounced and...well... around the room. Having been thrown off focus with her inquiry, he couldn't seem to return to his work with the background, hip hop music leaking from her ears. And especially not whilst she was making obscene dance gestures. He glanced up at her, irritated

Groaning, he leaned his chin in his palm that was supported by his elbow on the table. He was too tired to make her leave or stop—the process having proven itself an arduous task, and otherwise fruitless. Though he found her sometimes distracting and mind-numbingly irritating, he also found her presence a comfort more than a disturbance.

Well, most days, anyway.

It was days like this one that he merely had to be patient. It was not for lack of _trying _to focus on the work at hand. He just couldn't do it.

Mitchell entered. "What now?" he inquired, seeing Vala... grind to the floor and back up. "Not that Single Ladies video, again. I thought she'd gotten bored with it, finally."

"No, she got that down pat three hours ago," Daniel replied, his chin still in his palm. "This is Jack."

"Jack?" Mitchell asked, confused.

Daniel shifted his head. "Jack."

Vala did another... well...

Realization kicked in. "Jack."

"Yep."

The song must have ended, because Vala had heard Mitchell's voice and turned. "Cameron!" she grinned as the two men turned their gazes back to look at her.

"Yo," was his response.

"What is a shawtie?"

Daniel snorted.

"Uh..." Mitchell shifted, completely taken by surprise.

"Yep, that's what I said." Daniel stood up and glanced down at his work.

"D—um... Where... did you hear that?" But, instead of waiting for her explanation, he pivoted at the waste to meet Daniel's gaze.

"Flo Rida," they said in unison.

Cameron scrunched his face and scratched the back of his head. "It's actually pronounced.... shorty," he stuttered, returning to Vala.

"Oh, okay," Vala smiled. "What does 'shorty' mean?" undeterred, and obviously phased not a whit.

Mitchell sighed.

"You might as well tell her," Daniel said.

"Okay, well why don't _you _tell her?"

"Daniel told me to ask you," Vala grinned.

"Oh great. _I'm _the one who has to deal with this? Gee, thanks, Jackson."

"No problem... bro." Daniel smiled meaningfully up at Mitchell.

"Okay, fine," Cameron sighed. "A shorty is a woman... who is very attractive, usually in reference to her.... um... ass." Mitchell stammered. "And she usually... um... makesmoneyforsex." the last four words he'd mumbled and scratched his nose.

"I'm... sorry," she said. "I missed that last part."

Mitchell pivoted again, but received no support from Daniel who merely shrugged and shook his head as if to say, "I didn't catch what you said either."

Mitchell sighed. "She makes money for sex," he repeated.

Everyone paused. "Uh...That's not necessarily—" Daniel began, but the damage was already done.

"So, wait—" Vala said, interrupting Daniel, absorbing the information. And then, "I'm a shorty!" The conclusion made both men jerk their gazes up at her in shock.

"Well, not, that's not what I—"

But Vala was smiling. She giggled, skipped in between both men, and kissed their cheeks, frolicking through the door. "I'm a shorty," she chanted.

"I... wouldn't," Cameron called after her, but she was already gone. "....advertise that..." he finished to an empty door frame. He paused. "How much you wanna bet she didn't actually comprehend what I meant?" he inquired, still staring after her.

"I'm sorry, what you _meant _or what you _said?_" Daniel countered. "Cause what you _said _wasn't entirely accurate, and what you _meant_ was in response to the song she was listening to."

"I—really messed that one up, didn't I?" Cameron said, turning back to Daniel.

"Yeah, I'd say so."

"Hm." Mitchell bit on the inside of his cheek. "Could have explained that one better, I suppose."

"Mm, yeah. Probably."

"Hey, you handed her off to _me. _It's as much your fault as it is mine." He pointed an accusing finger at Daniel.

"We could..." Daniel mused, "...just blame Jack."

Mitchell paused. "That works for me."

Vala's head reappeared. "Hey," she beamed. "This 'pole' thing... What is it's use? I never used one before. Is it a type of torture device?"

Mitchell snorted. "Uh... you take this one, Sunshine."

Momentarily speechless, Daniel finally answered. "Yeah. Guess you could say that. But—"

"Great," she interrupted again. "How do I use it?"

Daniel's eyes went wide with shock. "Uh... D—um..."

"Oh, never mind," she said. "I'll figure it out for myself." She disappeared again.

"Ohthankgod," Daniel heaved, dropping his forehead to the table.

"Uh—Vala... I was..." Mitchell tried once more to call her back, but to no avail. "Wow," he muttered, continuing to stare after her. "Jack is... _really _gonna pay for this."

Daniel chuckled against the table. "We'll just sick Vala on him, and he'll never do something like it ever again." He stood up and replaced his glasses.

Pivoting at the waist, Cameron met Daniel's gaze. "Indeed."

X

Vala slunk back into the room, dejected. Daniel glanced up at her movement as she made her way towards her chair. "Hey," he said.

When he got no response, he felt a touch of concern. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Vala stood with her back to him, shoulders hunched, staring at down at her silly chair.

"Vala," he said, rounding the table and coming to stand beside her. "What's wrong?"

"Apparently," she spat, "A shorty—or more specifically a prostitute and or stripper—" Daniel rolled his eyes. "—is considered a vile, evil atrocity on your planet." Her words were biting and sarcastic.

Daniel relaxed. In fact, he found her response to this was rather amusing. He turned her to face him. "Who told you that?"

"Samantha," she pouted, not meeting his eyes.

Predictable.

Daniel lifted her chin with his finger, his other hand on her shoulder. "Okay, first of all, a shorty doesn't necessarily mean what Mitchell explained it as. Actually," rephrasing himself, "Mitchell misrepresented a shorty slightly. He was describing the kind that was being sung about in the song you were listening to. His facts got mixed up."

"But they are still vile and evil," she pouted up at him.

He chuckled. "Not all of them," he remarked.

"So you're saying that you like these... prostitutes?" she inquired.

"Wha—!" She kept doing that! "No! No. What I'm _trying _to say is that... Well, primarily that Mitchell explained the whole concept of shorty wrong, and secondly... to convince you that you are not evil or vile." He referenced her initial response to his, _What's wrong_, question. "You may have done some... questionable things in the past, but you stopped doing that, remember?"

"But I used my sexual appeal for money," she countered. "And once you're a shorty, you are always a shorty."

"A—Again, shorty doesn't mean prostitute, and.... who told you _that_?"  
"The Scarlet Letter," she whined.

"Wait a minute," Daniel blinked and stepped back. "You read the Scarlet Letter?"

"Don't be absurd, Daniel," she rolled her eyes. "Of course I didn't. It's ridiculously difficult to understand and terribly boring. You tried to get me to read it once, so I looked up the synopsis on the Internet. Don't you remember the conversation we had? You asked if I'd read it, I said yes, then you started shooting all of these inconsequential questions at me, and I finally gave up."

"I asked you those questions because that's what people do; read a book and talk about it." He blinked in sarcastic amusement. Of course she hadn't read it.

"I'd rather talk about sex anyway," she sighed. "And now people hate me."

"Okay, the once a prostitute, always a prostitute is ridiculous," he attempted to reconcile the situation.

"But she had sex with him and—"

"Because they fell in _love. _Not for money. If you'd _read_ the book, you'd know that."

"Oh."

"And secondly," he continued, "No one thinks of you as a prostitute."

"But I—"

"_Did_ those things," he interjected. "But you don't anymore. You've turned over a new leaf."

She considered this for a minute. "So... I'm not a shorty?" she asked?

"Not in the words that Mitchell used, no," he replied.

She looked at him, focusing on his face, gaging the truth in his words. "How can you speak for everyone?" she questioned.

He sighed. "I can't. But I know with absolute certainty that our team—Sam, Mitchell, Teal'c, and _myself—_do not think of you as a... prostitute." He said it and realized the absurdity of the situation. Never had he thought that he'd be trying to convince Vala she wasn't a stripper. Though he meant every word, they sounded strange to his ears.

"Well, than what _is _a shorty?"

He sighed. "A very beautiful woman all the men want to... date." He chose his words cautiously.

"So... I'm _not_ a shorty?" she asked, a pout revisiting her mouth.

"I don't—I..." he groaned. He could never win, could he? "Sure. Yes, in the words that _I _used, you are a shorty."

She half-smiled and twisted back and forth at the waist. Her pigtails swished at her shoulders.

And then Daniel had an epiphany, lifted his eyebrow and said, "Sam already gave you this speech, didn't she?"

"Yes," she battered her eyelashes. "And Cameron and Muscles. Though, to say the least, Muscles' was the most awkward." She thought a moment. "No, I take that back. Cameron and Muscles tied for first."

"You knew the whole time, didn't you?"

"Actually, no. Sam _did_ tell me about the shorty. I wasn't lying about that."

"Wonderful," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Though, I have to admit," she grinned, "Your's was my favorite."

"I'm truly touched." He brought his hands to his chest in mock sentiment. "Truly," he repeated. He turned to walk back to his work, and she trailed him. When he placed himself over the five or so books left laying open on the table, she just stood beside him, propping herself on her elbow.

After a moment, he heaved a sigh. "What?" He didn't turn to look at her, but she stunned him when he felt her touch his arm with her hands, step up onto her tip toes, and brush her lips to his temple. It wasn't a playful peck like the one she'd bestowed on him and Mitchell before—it was something a little more.

When she pulled back to stand on her heels, Daniel turned his head. He saw in her eyes a hint of something—much deeper than playfulness. It almost scared him.

As the tender touch of affection faded, she winked—her coltish nature returning—and turned to skip out of the room.

Left alone with his thoughts, Daniel stared off into space, wondering if the vixen was preying upon him, and if the pixie had cast a permanent spell. So far, things were not looking so good for the prey.

That thought almost scared him.

Almost...

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...**


	14. Nightmares

_Been a while... almost there..._

X

Daniel woke with a start. Sweat covered his body. He was trembling. Breath came hard and with great difficulty; his lungs desperately demanded it, though could not seem to capture enough of it at the rate it was needed. He blinked twice, glancing around him as if he'd never seen the inside of his room before. Slapping his hand to his face, he wiped away the sweat that threatened to trickle into his eyes. After a few moments of pinching the bridge of his nose—his eyes closed, cataloging the past few minutes of his life—his breathing neutralized and his heart rate slowed, but a sense of madness engulfed him like a fog.

What in god's name was happening to him?

He attempted to remember what had woke him. He realized it had been a dream, for no noise came from outside his door. But the dream was rapidly slipping away, sliding just out of his reach. Forcing the fingers of his consciousness to grab hold of the receding wave of thoughts, his will did not come back empty handed.

He remembered.

He shivered as the images returned in full, brutal force. The faces, the screaming, the pain. Images flashed through his mind, projecting like a film on the insides of his eyelids. He was kneeling, sobs wracking through him. People stood around him, jeering, mocking—pure and unrequited hatred in their eyes. Stone after stone, they hurled every ounce of that hatred at his body, bruising and breaking him. With every impact, he cried out in pain.

"It's me!" he screamed. "It's me, Vala! Stop! Listen! Please!"

But they didn't stop, and they didn't listen.

The visions faded, and Daniel sat there in his bed—head in his hands—and felt the burning desire to be comforted. No, it wasn't his desire; it was hers. He could sense her grief at the terrible memory. The bond between them was great, indeed, for he felt himself reacting immediately to her need.

Stepping out of bed, he paid no heed to the cold shiver up his spine at the impact of his bare feet with the floor. He grabbed her key card from his bedside drawer, walked out of his room, and made straight down the hall towards her room. The jaunt took him ten steps and he was at her door, unlocking, and entering.

When he saw her, his whole body felt the wave of grief that crashed against him. Her whole room was filled with her sobs, her fear, and the terror of her dream. He could feel her emotions as if they were his own. The instant he saw his little black-haired pixie—cowering in the corner of the room and wracked with sobs—it took him all of four steps to cross the room and stand behind her.

She'd pressed her face against the wall, using it as a support. When she felt his hands on her waist, she didn't need to look through her tears to see whose hands they were. She twisted in his embrace and replaced the support of the wall with his chest.

He held her shaking and trembling body. Stroking her hair, he pressed her a little closer to him so she would know she was not alone. Not anymore.

Bringing her down to the floor, he used the bed as a brace for his back, and gathered her in his lap. She clung to him, replaying the memories in her head—cringing, crying out, and clutching him tighter with each revision.

Stroking her back, her head, her cheek, he breathed in her ear a comforting hush that had its calming effect on her in due course. Eventually, her sobs slowed to the intermittent sniffle and hiccup. Her cheek was rested on his chest—her eyelashes wet with the recent flow of tears, as was the spot on his shirt that had taken the brunt of the flood. With one arm wrapped around his back, she had the fabric of his shirt gathered in her hand. The other arm lay against his chest; her fingers—ever so softly—stroking against his shirt.

Daniel could feel her calming down.

"Hey," he breathed into her ear, pulling his head away slightly to get a better look at her face.

She made a muffled noise, sniffed, and pulled away gingerly. She brought her hands to brush the tears from her cheeks and laughed faintly. "I'm a mess," she said, looking down at her hands she'd rested in her lap.

He smiled sweetly, and brought his hand up to brush her hair from her shoulder. "Not intolerably so," he mumbled.

Sniffing again, she glanced up at him. Their gazes met, but instead of her heart grinding to a stop, or speeding to a race in her chest, she felt a peace in his eyes she'd never known before. The connection between them was an ocean of warm, tranquil waters. There were no fireworks, no intense, lustful desires. Just the sweet, innocent comfort of not being alone.

"Come on," he finally said. "Let's get you to bed."

He stood and lifted her up. Her legs were weak beneath her, and thus she leaned against him. He led her around the bed and sat her upon it. Hesitating a moment to see if she was alright, he slowly turned towards the door.

"Daniel..." Vala's soft voice made him turn back. He saw her looking at him, and her eyes were filled with a silent plea. _Please don't leave me,_ it said. _I don't want to be alone._

Feeling her need in his gut, he walked back the bed. A tear slid down her cheek at his action, extolling him for obliging her wish. She lay back against the pillow, and she felt him close around her. Nuzzling his nose into her hair, he wrapped his arms around her waist, closing his eyes. Her eyes fluttered for a moment—a peaceful smile twitching the corners of her mouth—and then finally closed.

With his body against her, and the comfort of his nearness, she drifted into a placid sleep, free of the nightmares of the past. His hold warmed her body, and his breath against her neck expelled all thoughts of fear and death. She wasn't alone anymore. She didn't have to be afraid.

For his part, Daniel felt all of these things vicariously through her. It overcame him, and he floated off to sleep once more, following her into a rest that purged him of all tension. He'd forgotten what it was like to hold someone. Sometimes, he could still smell Sha'uri's scent when he slept, feel her warmth integrated to his body. But when he opened her eyes, she wasn't there. His arms were empty.

Holding Vala now, he smelled her, felt her warmth. Her scent was different, strange. She had an unusual shape, much different than his wife's before.

And yet she fitted against him; the difference seeming to fill holes that Sha-uri hadn't been able to fill—holes, in fact, that Daniel had not known he'd had. Stranger still, her fragrance flooded his nostrils—where Sha-uri's had tickled—and washed away doubt, frustration, and... guilt.

Hours later, when this realization had sunk in and had finally registered, Daniel woke from his sleep, an action that had become exhaustingly redundant. Vala was still in his arms—had, in fact, snuggled further into his hold than she'd been when sleep had engulfed him. Her constant, unfettered breathing convinced him she was asleep and at peace.

But instead of being grateful for her serenity, an unsettled feeling prickled in his gut. He was holding another woman. Sha'uri was gone, yes, but he couldn't love another. He'd had one wife—one love of his life—and though Vala was beautiful and charming... and here... he couldn't love her. Not the way he'd loved Sha-uri.

Vala was a loose canon. He couldn't love a loose canon. He couldn't be more than her friend. If he was more, he'd have to trust her; and that was something he was not prepared to do. She hadn't given him the assurance that she _could _be trusted... at least, not in the way he would need to if he was to love her.

And so he left. Not because he didn't feel the desperate desire to stay, but because he couldn't admit to himself that he was afraid—afraid of needing and being needed.

Before he closed the door behind him, he paused, turned, and looked at her slumbering form. She was at peace, he could tell, and when he exited, he left with that knowledge. It gave him consolation.

If only a little.

Behind him, Vala stirred in her dreams. A frown disturbed her once tranquil face. Where he had sensed her terror, she now felt his disquiet. It did not wake her, but her dreams were unresolved that night, and a bitter taste tipped her tongue.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering.**


	15. Escape

_ She sat there, tears sliding down her cheeks. She replayed everything he'd said to her... about her. She knew all of it was true. _

_ And for once in her life, she was ashamed. Ashamed of being the kind of person he would say such things about. The fact that he—Daniel—couldn't imagine finding her attractive was heartbreaking. She knew that admitting that it would have meant the world to her to mean the world to him would ruin her, but she couldn't help herself. She knew that if he didn't want her, nothing else mattered._

_ Coming so close to having it stripped away—leaving her naked—was not only humiliating, it was painful. Another tear slid down her cheek, and she silently cursed herself._

_ His back was to her, and he was leaning against the window, looking out into the emptiness. God she was beautiful, he thought to himself. Her eyes, her hair, her mouth... her body. Why did she have to pick him to tease and torment? _

_ He didn't see her wipe the tears that had collected on her jaw, did not see her body silently sob._

_ He sighed._

_ Hurt and bruised, Vala began to put her shirt back on. Exposing herself to him had only made the conclusion of the situation worse. He'd seen who she was, and had rejected her._

_ She sniffed._

_ Upon hearing her soft noise, he turned—a twinge of scoff. Her back was still to him, and she was dressing. _

_ "Don't tell me you're upset," he said, half expecting her to turn around and snub her pretty nose towards him, and preparing himself to accept her verbal abuse._

_ But she did neither. Instead, she sniffed again. And this time, he saw her wipe her face with her hand._

_ Her beautiful black hair was resting on her shoulders, but Daniel could see it was quivering. She wasn't crying, was she?_

_ The internal instinct to comfort her drew him, and he walked over to her, placing himself next to her on the bed, he saw the glistening of her cheeks as she whipped around to turn her face away from him. My god, she was crying. _

_ "Just give me a minute," she said, covering her face with her hands. The action infuriated her, but she couldn't seem to be able to stand up, let alone stop the tears from penetrating her eyes. Her hands over her face, she cursed herself again. How could she have let herself be so affected by one man?_

_ When she put her hands over her face, Daniel finally knew. It wasn't just because she was bored and sexually driven; Vala loved him._

_ And by the way that she was reacting to the situation, he realized that she'd been in love with him for a very long time._

_ The thought almost shocked him...almost scared him...almost..._

_ Without thinking, Daniel reached up and brushed her hair from the shoulder closest to him. _

_ "Look at me," he gently whispered._

_ She shook her head, her face still masked by her hands. He stroked her back and felt her body quiver underneath his touch. _

_ Touched beyond reason, he slid his other hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. _

_ Having no choice in the matter, Vala removed her hands and, not knowing what else to do—her pride was at stake—she met his gaze with one of defiance. Of course, when she saw the compassion in his gray eyes, her defiance immediately melted. She stuck her nose up and turned her face away from his beautiful, agonizing stare._

_ Seeing her soft cheeks wet with tears, Daniel could do nothing but fall from his precipice of strength and surety—into the well of emotions he'd unknowingly been at the brink of for a long while. He wondered how long this simmering desire to hold her had been buried deep down in his hungry soul. A moment of pondering brought him to the conclusion that he'd secretly known all along that he loved her. On some level, every time she had leaned against him, he had wished to further invite her touch. When her life was threatened, an instinct deep within his soul screamed to save her. Being the one person in the room that Vala chose to lean against, even for casual support, made him sit up a little straighter, though he'd never truly acknowledged it._

_ And for a very long time—since the first time they'd met—he had abhorrently denied his attraction. _

_ But the instant he saw her, sitting there beside him—grieving under the stinging, brutal words he'd said to her—Daniel realized it wasn't just a physical attraction. He wanted her, but for a different kind of release than one gets when physical desires are satisfied._

_ He wanted to hold her. He wanted to love her—to taste her on his lips. _

_ This thought drove him to do what he'd pushed back for so long. In an instant, her face was in his. Gently, he pressed his lips to hers and they began to move against hers like they'd done it a million times before. He tasted the salty tears on her lips; she was so sweet._

_ After a moment, he pulled back. Her eyes remained shut, as if drinking in the sweetness, letting it fill her to the brim. When she finally opened them, he saw the confusion and complete longing in her eyes. He smiled._

_ He smiled, lovestruck."You better not be messing with me," he joked._

_ But the look on her face told him she wasn't, and that only made him want the distance between them gone. He pulled her to him again, this time with a little more force than before. He felt her respond to him then, and felt her shiver. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he squeezed her to him, like she'd disappear if he wasn't touching holding her tight. She pushed herself closer to him, as if considering the same dilemma. _

_ He smiled against her lips moving on his and pushed her down to lie beneath him. _

X

She knew he'd be there.

It was his favorite place on Atlantis—where he could stand for hours and endlessly gaze at the marriage point where sea met sky, as if he'd find an answer there.

She wondered if he had one for this.

"This last dream—" she started, but he didn't give her time to finish.

"Vala, I don't want to hear it."

She stood there, rejected—a feeling that tingled with familiarity. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I just get so edgy afterwards."

"I know," she replied, irritated that he hadn't figured that part out yet. Of course she knew. _Come on, Daniel, you're being ridiculous._

She came to lean against the bar next to him. She softly sighed as she gazed across the ocean.

It had been a week since they'd gotten there. Daniel had gone for professional reasons, but she'd merely gone because he had. She'd requested a month-long leave of absence, and the general—in his goodness—had granted it to her.

She knew that Daniel knew why she'd come, but they hadn't talked about it.

They hadn't talked about anything, really.

Vala had tried to fill the time by talking to the SG Atlantis team, but though their friendships gave her mind some sanctuary, they provided little in the area of pure reprieve.

For Daniel, the silence between them had been like a thorn in his side. He had been trying to escape her, but she'd worked her magic with the General, and he'd found himself being accompanied by the one person he was trying to elude. Whenever their paths had crossed in the last week, he'd considered it an unavoidable nuisance. Ever since his recent realizations—that she was in love with him, and that he couldn't give her what she wanted—he'd tried everything in his power to forestall talking about it. Ever was he battling his own thoughts and feelings about that night.

He was grateful that she had sensed his need for silence; however, he didn't understand why she hadn't confronted him sooner. She was ever a vexing creature he just couldn't seem to pin down.

Now, standing in this place of asylum, with her beside him, it seemed to be the first time in a long while that he felt at peace.

She finally broke the silence. "We need to talk, Daniel." She spoke as if they had both acknowledged this thought, but he had been running from it. Which, of course, was the truth.

"Just—" he said in irritation. "Just—can we just stand here in silence?" He huffed. Why did she have to ruin everything?

She turned to him. "Why are you so cruel to me?" she demanded. "What could I have..._possibly_ done to deserve your irritation?"

He laughed.

"Yet again," she sighed. She turned to face away from the ocean and leaned against the bars. She waited a moment. And then, "Why won't you let me in, Daniel?"

He let out a heavy, loud breath and stood up straighter. "It's not that—" he began. "It's not that I don't want to let you in," he stated, not fully convinced himself. "It's that if we speak, we'll never be able to recover."

"What," she asked. "Recover from what? From eight weeks of obvious torture? From honeymoon bliss gone awry? From a marriage that both of us want out of?"

This stung, and he didn't know why. "Really, Vala? Do you really want out of it?"

"Don't you put this on me," she snapped.

"Oh, but you started it." He gazed into her eyes. "Com'mon, Vala," he said softly. "What do you want me to say?"

She looked down at her shoes. "You could start by acknowledging what we just saw."

"Fine," he huffed. "We just saw what may or may not have been what our alternate-reality selves succumbed to."

"Succumbed?" She jerked her head up to look him in the face.

"Vala, com'mon. If that's what happened, we obviously only did it because there weren't many other options."

"Daniel," she said quietly.

"You know it, and I know it!" he defended himself.

She shook her head. "I find it fascinating that even in my dreams your are as cruel to me as in reality."

She turned and started walking away.

"Vala," he called after her, feeling guilty.

"No, Daniel," she whirled around to face him. The distance between them felt like light years. "No. I'm done. I can't take this anymore." She gazed at him a moment longer. "I'm leaving, Daniel. Now you won't have to look at me anymore."

She faked a half-smile that Daniel obviously saw didn't reach her eyes. She turned and walked away...and left him standing there alone.

The emptiness that consumed him in that moment was the darkest emptiness he'd ever felt.

It left him wondering if he was truly willing to give her up and live without her forever...or if he'd been cheating himself all this time.

His heart ached at the thought.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...**


	16. Drowning

A knock came at her door.

She'd felt him coming, so she wasn't surprised to open the door and find Daniel standing there, hands in his pockets—as per usual.

Since she'd moments ago left him for what she thought was the last time, Vala's stomach did a little flip at the sight of his familiar stance. _He's just here to say good bye, _she thought to herself_. _

_This_ would be the last time she'd see him.

He wouldn't to meet her eyes.

Putting her hand on her hip, she growled. "What is it, Daniel?"

A long moment of tension followed.

Finally... "Don't go."

She paused. Did he say what she thought he'd said?

Her arm fell to her side. He looked up into her eyes—finally. She searched them for the answer to her heartbreaking question.

"Come again," her voice quivered.

He stepped towards her. His eyes flickered to her forehead, to her mass of black curls. He raised one of his hands and placed it against her cheek. Once again, he looked into her eyes, but this time he was standing directly in front of her.

A shocked tear slid down her cheek and was caught by his callused hand.

"Don't go," he whispered.

She closed her eyes. A quivering smile graced her lips. Her chin trembled, and her heart constricted in her chest. She couldn't breathe; it was as if she was drowning in his presence.

She felt his arm slide around her waist. His chest grazed against hers.

At this point, she broke. Throwing her arms around him, she dug her face into his chest and wept. "Thank god," she gasped.

He held her, petting her hair, cherishing the moment.

Finally, he pulled his head away, and she did the same. In the few seconds before he kissed her, they just looked into each others' souls. All of the emotions pulsing between them promised a night of heat, but for a moment...just for a moment, he held her gaze, read her thoughts, and sighed as he confirmed her desperate question.

The last thought she remembered thinking before he kicked the door closed behind them was, "Daniel Jackson loves me."

**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate... merely dreaming and pondering...**


End file.
